“The King’s Favorite”, written, directed and starring Maiwenn Le Besco, with Johnny Depp as Louis XV, whose gestures of boredom could infect a good part of the audience.
Blonde with blue eyes, languid face and skillful hands, natural daughter of a seamstress (and a priest), Jeanne Becu She grew up in the house of a supported woman, she was educated in a nun’s school, on the streets and in beds, she had several jobs and a protector, the count. Dubarrywhich refined it and turned it into what is known today as an escort. Married to the count’s brother, she thus achieved a noble title and access to the widowed king’s bed. Louis XV. She was his official lover, led a life of luxury at the expense of the State, bought property, got involved in politics (unlike the previous lover, the famous Madame de Pompadourwho was only interested in jewelry, dresses and knick-knacks), fell out with the king’s daughters and daughter-in-law (another famous one, Marie Antoinette), was hated and envied wholesale, and when the monarch died she had to go to one of his castles. There, to kick off the vice, he had other loves. Then the French Revolution caught her in a bad position and the Jacobins confiscated all her property and cut off her head.
That’s the story of Madame Dubarry, or Du Barrywhich inspired two novels by Alexander Dumasan operetta Knepler and Milloker and, since 1910, a dozen films. They embodied it, among others, Leslie Carter, Theda Bara, Pola Negri, Priscilla Dean, Norma Talmadge (“Du Barry, Woman of Passion”, Clark Gable was one of the extras), the Mexican Dolores del Rioin a Warner film that had censorship problems, the Hungarians Gitta Alpar and Sari Barabas in two German musicals, and the exquisite Martine Carolunder the direction of the teacher Christian-Jacque1954. That film, and those of Ernst Lubitsch and William Dieterle (all with the same title, “Madame Dubarry”) are the best that have been done on this figure. The one we see now is not one of the best, but it is attractive.
Partially filmed in the Palace of Versailles and other places where the events occurred, with the contribution of 20 million euros, very good specialists (in the lead, costume designer, art director, director of photography and makeup artists) and a cast where they stand out Benjamin Lavernhethe old comedian Pierre Richard, Robin Renucci and Melvin Poupaud (as, respectively, Valet La Borde, the Duke of Richelieu, Monsieur Dumousseaux and Count Du Barry), this blockbuster was directed by and starring Maiwenn Le Bescowhich thus gives itself the pleasure of appearing repeatedly in the foreground.
She also wrote the script, along with Teddy Lussi-Modestethat of “An easy girl”and participated in the production with his partner Johnny Deppwho plays the boring-looking king very well. The truth is, boredom can infect part of the audience, because there is a lot of luxury but little dramatic tension. On the other hand, the other party can enjoy the sight of those luxuries, or the avant-garde feminist poses, or even more so with the provocative attitudes that Maiwenn gives to his character. “Debauchery made her a woman and free”says a voice-over narrator, as if pointing the way.
Regarding this last concept, and bad reputation, it is worth remembering two old comedies: “A Dubarry of today”of Alexander Kordawith his wife as a uniquely rising store clerk, and “Dubarry was a lady”with Red Skelton dreaming that he is the king next to Lucille Ball like his lover.
“The King’s Favorite” (Jeanne du Barry, France, 2023); Dir.: Maiwenn Le Besco; Int.: Maiwenn, Johnny Depp, Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Melvin Poupaud.
Source: Ambito
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
