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For
over a year, U.S.
fans of Johnny Depp's
eccentric and masterful
acting career hopefully
awaited a chance
to see The Libertine
in America following
its premier in Europe.
Their patience was
rewarded by a brief
theatrical run in
a few major cities,
but primarily by
the release of the
film in its original
cut on DVD. Depp
co-stars with Samantha
Morton and John
Malkovich.
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The Libertine is
not a beautifully
filmed, idealized
vision of the 17th
Century, nor is
the debauched John
Wilmot's life glossed
over and tidied
up to offer a happy
ending. Johnny Depp
portrays Wilmot
as the arrogant,
self-destructive,
doomed individual
he was, and his
end is not easy
to watch, but the
film is a mesmerizing
look into a life
and time that was
uniquely, darkly
decadent.
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