Storyline
The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
Directors
Cast
Johnny Depp, John Malkovich, Samantha Morton, Rosamund Pike, Clare Higgins, Stanley Townsend, Tom Hollander, Richard Coyle, Kelly Reilly, Paul Ritter, Francesca Annis, Jack Davenport, Jake Curran, Rupert Friend, Cara Horgan, Paul Chahidi, Tom Burke, Johnny Vegas, Hugh Sachs, Trudi Jackson, Kevin Doyle, T.P. McKenna
Trailer
Reviews
88
This one-of-a-kind spellbinder from first-time director Laurence Dunmore is not afraid to shock. Depp is a raunchy wonder, especially in a time-capsule-worthy opening monologue.
67
As the depraved John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, Johnny Depp adds yet another sly sleazoid to his burgeoning portrait gallery.
63
Johnny Depp's coruscating, rigorously uningratiating performance as debauched, self-destructive 17th-century aristocrat John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, is the glue that doesn't quite hold together first-time director Laurence Dunmore's adaptation of Stephen Jeffreys' 1994 play.
50
Variety
Starting out seductive but ending up tiresome, debuting director Laurence Dunmore's pic is an honorable misfire.
50
Deep and Morton are really flying here (the scene in which the hero instructs the heroine in the passionate possibilities of her art), and they leave the rest of the film looking heavy on its feet. The second half, especially, grows dour and maundering, and by the end the movie seems to flail in desperation, more like a work in progress than like a finished piece.
