Jeanne du Barry
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Short description
Jeanne du Barry, released in 2023, is a historical drama about a woman of humble origins who rises to a position of extraordinary influence in eighteenth-century France. Born in 1743 as the illegitimate daughter of a poor seamstress, Jeanne Vaubernier uses her intelligence and charisma to climb the social ladder. Through the intervention of the Count du Barry and the Duke de Richelieu, she is introduced to King Louis XV, who does not know of her life as a courtesan. Their meeting quickly becomes a mutual passion, and she restores the aging monarch's appetite for life. He makes her his official favourite, grants her the title of Countess du Barry, and moves her into Versailles, where her presence scandalises the court. Courtiers who resent her influence work against her behind the scenes.
Maïwenn directs and stars as the title character, with Johnny Depp as Louis XV and supporting turns from Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvil Poupaud, Robin Renucci and Pierre Richard. She wrote the screenplay with Teddy Lussi-Modeste and Nicolas Livecchi, and produced the film with Pascal Caucheteux and Grégoire Sorlat. It is her third feature as director, following Polisse and My King.
The production had a budget of about 22 million dollars and took roughly 15 million dollars worldwide, a modest theatrical return. On IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from around 16,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.9 from a much smaller 721 votes. A critics' rating of 5.3 from 84 reviews places professional assessments below the generally mild audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Director and screenwriter Maïwenn dreamed of making this film since she saw Sofia Coppola's drama “Marie Antoinette” (2005). She repeatedly returned to the story of Jeanne Du Barry, but decided to seriously tackle this project only after filming the 2015 drama “My King.”
- The film was partially shot at Versailles, i.e., where the plot unfolds, however, the film crew faced strict limitations. Filming was only allowed on Mondays, when the entire palace and park complex was closed to visitors, filming was only permitted in certain locations, and candles were absolutely forbidden. As a result, to simplify the process, sets of some rooms had to be built in the filming pavilions.
- According to Maïwenn, she discovered Stanley Kubrick’s historical drama “Barry Lyndon” (1975) too late, and the film made an indelible impression on her. She shot her film in the old style and not in a way that would make it look like Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” (2005). In other words, she shot the film on 35mm film and used Kubrick's work as a guide. This proved difficult, as she was used to making changes and improvising in projects, but here she had to strictly follow the script.
- Maïwenn was writing the screenplay, intending to cast an actor of French origin in the lead role, but he turned it down, stating that “cinema is dead” and “all that’s left is Netflix.” Then Maïwenn offered the role to another Frenchman, who accepted, but later left the project due to health problems. It is known that one of these two actors was Gérard Depardieu. Maïwenn was then asked to compile a list of actors she would like to see in her film, which she did, and initially contacted the second actor on the list. Two months later, she was contacted by the actor’s assistant, who conveyed a refusal – without explanation. Now Maïwenn began to think that the project would never materialize, so she decided she had nothing to lose and contacted the first actor on her list. That was Johnny Depp, who met with her in London a couple of weeks later and immediately agreed to star.
- While working on this film, Mavven served as director, producer, screenwriter, and actress. She later admitted that combining all these roles was incredibly difficult, and vowed never to act in her own films again.
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