I don't want to start with a boring film critique of the inventory of the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Why complain when the sun gently kisses the carefree public of the Cote d'Azur, and the wind protects the ceremonial styling? There are almost two weeks of premieres ahead (Scorsese! Almodovar! Gondry!), tracks and awards, and Johnny Depp's lot fell to open the gates of the bourgeois holiday. The actor, dear to his heart, became the hero of a spontaneous reality show about divorce and, after a series of dismissals under the sign "cancellation", returned to where he should be - in the VIP cabin of a cinematic liner. The Spaniards were the first to "forgive" Depp and invited the star to the festival in Saint Sebastian, presenting him with an honorary prize. But it is with France that Johnny is connected by a particularly tender love, the power of which has not faded even after the divorce (literal and allegorical): Dior signed a fabulous contract with Depp, and Thierry Fremaux (director of the Cannes Review) spread the red carpet of the opening under his feet. And everything seemed to work out perfectly: everyone is forgiven, happy and watching a movie. Just one "but": "Jeanne Dubarry" is a costumed romcom that looks like the sunset of Europe, not a career renaissance.

Who is Jeanne Dubarry? Behind the status of the favorite of Louis XV, presented to the court, there are quite a lot of stories that should be told. A vague origin, an unhappy childhood, the youth of a courtesan, marriage with Guillaume Du Barry and, finally, the patronage of the King of France to spite all the winds. Dubarry (it seems only slightly) touched on intrigues not only romantic, but also political, provoked the irritation of the Versailles public and introduced her own fashion for curtsies. What does Maiwenn's film offer? Jokes are jokes, coquetry and glances, which one day turn into a big and strong love of the monarch (Depp), who is eaten up by royal rituals, and the lady (Maiwenn herself), who exchanged shyness for a pair of new stockings.

I would like to complain not about my own expectations, but rather about the background of events: the release of "Jeanne Du Barry" will take place on Netflix. To get a ticket to the great hall of Lumiere, the film was released in France, however, the picture will feel much more comfortable on streaming than at the festival. Somewhere in the folder: what to watch if you liked "Bridgerton?". But Maiwenn's movie can hardly keep up with the graceful impudence of the platform hit. After watching, there is no answer to the question, how did the performer of the main role and the director Maiwenn want to interpret the controversial heroine she liked so much? A feminist icon? A victim of conventions and statuses? A woman who loved? Dubarry remains a shadow and only occasionally pays the toll of contempt for outrageous antics. What she wants, why she cries or laughs is a mystery that masks the scenario holes. 

The context for Maiwenn fades into the background and serves the narrative in the same way as the weather forecast — the feelings of a monarch and a bright lady rule the ball. Grotesquely drawn courtiers and the king's family (Louis's daughters are like Cinderella's stepsisters in the interpretation of not even Disney, but a romcom from the noughties with Hilary Duff) cast sidelong glances, roll their eyes and plot unconvincing intrigues against the favorite. On the satire of Versailles mores, even not very thoughtful, it is quite possible to build a path to revolution (many of the characters in the picture will lay their heads on a date with the guillotine), but Maiwenn does not try to illustrate the crisis of the monarchy, but rather laughs to make fun (it does not come out particularly witty), and sympathizes with the king with all his might