There’s probably no better evidence of the modern social and cultural difference between Europe and North America than in the French film, “Jeanne du Barry.” Written, directed, and produced by French filmmaker/actress Maïwenn and starring herself and Johnny Depp, just by Depp’s participation, it became something of a controversial movie in North America.
In the United States, despite winning his defamation trial lawsuit against Amber Heard, Depp is still essentially persona non-grata following his many controversies and the tabloid-heavy divorce reports that led to that infamous trial (Depp hasn’t starred in a big Hollywood movie since “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” in 2018 and was dropped for its 2022 sequel).
But in France, where #MeToo and the age of reckoning didn’t take quite as fiercely, Depp is still seen as a viable commodity; “Jeanne du Barry” even opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 (read our review).
A romantic period drama, “Jeanne du Barry” centers on the life of Jeanne Bécu (Maïwenn), who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress.
To further the point and divide, even though the period drama was released in several parts of Europe last year, it’s only being released in North America later this year. Here’s the official synopsis:
Johnny Depp stars as King Louis XV in the story of the entrancing Jeanne du Barry (Maïwenn), a French peasant woman whose meteoric rise through the royal court to become the King’s last mistress creates a scandal of epic proportions. Based on a true story.
While the culture wars claimed a key victory following the outcome of the Depp/Heard trial of 2022, the fact remains Depp hasn’t even appeared on screen since 2020’s “Minamata,” and his film appearances are far few and between. Since his 2018 ‘Fantastic Beasts’ firing, he’s only been seen in four small indies; a far cry from his heyday (and it seems like he’s been replaced in the upcoming “Pirates of The Caribbean” reboot)
“Jeanne du Barry” opens in select theaters in the U.S. and Canada beginning May 2.