Jeanne du Barry
About the Film
Born illegitimate and raised in poverty, the sharp and beautiful Jeanne Vaubernier uses her wit and charm to climb through the ranks of 18th-century French society, working her way up from the demi-monde to the fringes of the aristocracy as a celebrated courtesan. Her ascent brings her, improbably, to the attention of the most powerful man in France: the ageing, world-weary King Louis XV.
Smitten, the king installs Jeanne at Versailles as his official mistress — an unprecedented elevation for a woman of her birth that scandalises the court and enrages his daughters. For a time she reigns as the first lady of the palace, but her fortunes are bound entirely to the king’s favour, and when he dies of smallpox she is cast out overnight, a fall that foreshadows the coming end of the old order itself.
Plot synopsis by johnny-depp.org.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp plays King Louis XV, performing entirely in French — a taciturn, melancholy monarch, weary of the rituals of Versailles, whose imperious facade conceals genuine tenderness for Jeanne. Depp underplays the role with quiet, watchful stillness, using a raised eyebrow or the smallest gesture to command a room, and the performance marked a high-profile return to leading roles that opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Cast & Crew
Cast
Jeanne du BarryMaïwenn
King Louis XVJohnny Depp
Jean-Benjamin de La BordeBenjamin Lavernhe
Duke of RichelieuPierre Richard
Comte Guillaume du BarryMelvil Poupaud
Duke of AiguillonPascal Greggory
Adélaïde de FranceIndia Hair
Crew
DirectorMaïwenn
ScreenplayMaïwenn, Teddy Lussi-Modeste & Nicolas Livecchi
MusicStephen Warbeck
CinematographyLaurent Dailland
ProducersMaïwenn, Johnny Depp, Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat
StudioWhy Not Productions
Filming Locations
- Palace of Versailles, France
- Paris and the Île-de-France region
More about this film
Trivia
- The film opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and reportedly earned a standing ovation of around seven minutes.
- Johnny Depp performs the entire role in French.
- Director Maïwenn developed the project for roughly a decade after being inspired by Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
- It was Maïwenn’s first film shot on 35mm, inspired by Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon.
Awards
- 2024 César Awards — multiple nominations
