The Libertine – 6 out of 10
Much like Undertow, The Libertine seemed like two different films. The first half was funny, authentic, bawdy, witty and amusing. The second half was slow, over-dramatic, ponderous and generally lacking all the things that made the first half so good. Johnny Depp was spectacular (when isn’t he?) as was Samantha Morton; John Malkovich was underused, but what can you do? The sets were certainly more gritty and authentic than I’m used to seeing in London period-pieces, and the dialogue — especially in the first half — was excellent, but the film just got lost in the melodrama toward the final 1/3. Too bad; it had a ton of promise in the first hour.

Oh, and no stars in sight. I thought Depp was in town?