Jeanne du Barry

Jeanne du Barry

The life of Jeanne Bécu, 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.

  • Released: 2023-09-29
  • Runtime: 117 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History, Romance
  • Stars: Noémie Lvovsky, India Hair, Melvil Poupaud, Vincent Colombe, Benjamin Lavernhe, Johnny Depp, Maïwenn, Luna Carpiaux, Pascal Greggory, Alexandre Styker, David Decraene, Thibault Bonenfant, Ibrahim Yaffa, Pierre Richard, Diego Le Fur, Pauline Pollmann, Micha Lescot, Suzanne De Baecque, Capucine Valmary, Marianne Basler
  • Director: Maïwenn
 Comments
  • ma-cortes - 30 June 2024
    The attractive story of a common girl who uses her distinct charms to get out of her poor condition.
    Lush and big-budgeted costumer retells life of title role from an illegitimate girl to influential favorite. Epic on life of famous French favorite has Maiween in title role but lacks perspective and historical accuracy , though sets & costumes are excellent , being marketed for a large audience. This is a sympathetic biopic of the 18th-century favorite, the most notorious French courtesan , retelling the iconic figure, as Du Barry (Maiwenn) went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress. At the beginning, her lover, the Count du Barry (Melvil Poupaud) , who is getting rich thanks to Jeanne's lucrative gallantry, wishes to introduce her to the King. He organizes the meeting through the intermediary of the influential Duke of Richelieu (Pierre Richard) . This one exceeds his expectations: between Louis XV (Johnny Depp) and Jeanne, it's love at first sight... With the courtesan, the King rediscovers his taste for life - so much so that he can no longer do without her and decides to make her his official favorite.

    Delicious eye candy, but lacking in substance, this is a glamorous as well as opulent film of life of 18th century French courtesan filled with agreeable drama , luxurious gowns , impressive palaces but lacks good pace and historical events ; so this story is not historically accurate. Maiwenn captures somewhat essence of title character giving a passable acting. She shines in this enjoyable but uneven, lavish & sadly neglected film .Maiwenn co-writes, directs and stars in this majestic biopic about Jeanne Du Barry, illegitimate daughter of a priest, the most hated woman at the court of Versailles and the favorite of the king, Louis XV, who regained his will to live thanks to this courtesan. We walk through the life of this rebellious woman who broke with the codes of the corseted Versailles of the 18th century, scandalizing an entire country and was always exposed to all kinds of mockery, insults and harassment from those who always wanted to remind her of her origins. Maiwenn decided to make a film about Du Barry, after seeing her character in ¨Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette¨, and also influenced by ¨Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon¨. Maiwenn stated the following: Jeanne Du Barry seduced me because she is a magnificent loser. The movie had hundreds of costumes and lavish set designs . Some gowns became extremely heavy due to the embroidery, flounces and precious stones used . This film is really a historical/"pseudo-historical" drama , with the Versailles Court as the back scenery, for all kinds of entertaining intrigues . Spectacular and colorful scenarios , in fact , crew was allowed to film on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, Yvelines; along with colorful and brilliant cinematography by Laurent Dailland. Adding evocative musical score by composer musical score Stephen Warbeck . The motion picture unevenly written, produced and directed directed by Maiwenn , though she later admitted that this was too much for her, and swore to never direct and star at the same time in a movie again.

    The film based on historical deeds and adding more happenings , these are the following: Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 - 8 December 1793). Jeanne Bécu was the illegitimate daughter of Anne Bécu, a 30-year-old seamstress. Jeanne's father remains unidentified; however, it is possible that her father was Jean Jacques Gomard, a friar. She was the last maîtresse-en-titre of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason-particularly being suspected of assisting émigrés to flee from the Revolution. She is also known as "Mademoiselle Vaubernier". In 1768, when the king wished to make Jeanne maîtresse-en-titre, etiquette required her to be the wife of a high courtier, so she was hastily married on 1 September 1768 to Comte Guillaume du Barry. The wedding ceremony was accompanied by a false birth certificate, created by Jean-Baptiste du Barry, the comte's older brother. The certificate made Jeanne appear younger by three years and obscured her poor background. Henceforth, she was recognized as the king's official paramour. Her arrival at the French royal court scandalized some, as she had been a courtesan and came from humble beginnings. She was shunned by many, including Marie Antoinette, whose contempt for Jeanne caused alarm and dissension at court. On New Year's Day 1772, Marie Antoinette deigned to speak to Jeanne; her remark, "There are many people at Versailles today", was enough to take the edge off the dispute, though many still disapproved of Jeanne. Decades later, during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, Jeanne was imprisoned over accusations of treason by her slave Zamor. She was executed by guillotine on 8 December 1793. Her body was buried in the Madeleine cemetery. The fabulous gems which she had smuggled to London were sold at auction in 1795.
  • heymsashley - 7 May 2024
    Breathless, emotional, captivating
    I thoroughly enjoyed the film from start to finish, with tears streaming down my eyes throughout the film, it provoked that level of emotion. Du Barry went from an often times lonely and misunderstood childhood, that ultimately led to a trajectory of pleasing men as a means of survival. It was not a matter of luck that she became Louis XV's favorite, but a matter of authenticity, friendship, and love. This film showed a poignant and splendid array of charisma, color, emotional intelligence, and human spirit to capture a time when royalty lived in a snow globe and had to maintain multiple personalities, King Louis XV got to be himself with Du Barry and it shows through and through. A beautiful story of friendship and love... I would recommend watching all the way through.