The Libertine

page 13

! There May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !

The AFI Tribute to Johnny Depp was held last night at the Arclight Theater complex on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.  Those of us who were fortunate enough to have tickets began queuing up outside hours before it was scheduled to begin at 7 pm.

Once inside the theater, we watched the celebrity guests arrive including Danny Depp, Richard Zanuck, John Malkovich, Samanta Morton, Laurence Dunmore, Christy Dembrowski and Tracy Jacobs.

The stage was set simply with two chairs, a table, and several bottles of water.  After a speech from the president of AFI and the president of the Skirball Center, Richard Schickel went up to the podium to introduce the audience to the subject at hand.  He spoke eloquently, then a short montage of Johnny’s film which played to selected music from his films such as “Finding Neverland” and “Dead Man” shown.  It was very well edited and quite effective.

Finally Mr. Schickel introduced Johnny who came out wearing a silk tan suit, a dark chocolate colored, long-sleeved, silk shirt, rusty-red and cream colored shoes, a long golden pocket chain, and a ring on each hand.  Around his neck was a silver Gonzo symbol.

Johnny spoke in a carefully modulated voice as they got going, always respectful of Mr. Schickel, but obviously drawing the audience into the process and letting us know how uncomfortable this sort of thing was for him.  Mr. Schickel talked about the fact that Johnny had made forty films in twenty years, and wondered why Johnny was working so hard.  Johnny jokingly asked if maybe he should not.

Apparently Johnny did not realize they would be showing clips during the interview, and when Mr. Schickel announced the first clip from “Cry Baby,” Johnny almost looked shocked, talked about being tortured, and sat facing the audience, his back resolutely to the screen behind him as the theater darkened.  He was to do something similar every time a clip was shown.

They showed the scene from “Cry Baby” where Wade is in the park with Allison and he confesses that his parents were electrocuted, and thus his hatred of lightning.  It was brief, and when it ended Johnny admitted he hadn’t seen any of the film since about 1990.

Mr. Schickel brought up the subject of the general type of characters Johnny has played over the year.  They were all ‘on the outside’ and he asked if Johnny felt that way.  Johnny said it was not so much that they were on the outside, as they were not in the inside.  He said most people growing up feel that way.  He felt that way for ‘many years.’  He talked about how he always wanted the cheerleader, like every teen, but never got her.  He said he stayed away from the jocks at school.  Mr. Schickel pointed out that the jocks were the ones dating the cheerleaders, and Johnny looked thoughtful and with a smile said, “Maybe I should have hung out with them.”

They went on to discuss “Edward Scissorhands” and Johnny revealed his feelings about being a “product” on 21 Jump Street and how he never thought Tim Burton would cast him, how he even had called his agent Tracy Jacobs telling her to cancel the first meeting because he thought it would be a waste of time.  Then how he had spotted Tim in the coffee shop they met in and how they had clicked.

The scene from “Edward Scissorhands” they showed was the time after Edward had just gotten out of jail and Winona Rider’s character came back to apologize, Edward told her he knew it was her boyfriend’s house they had been in, and she went off with the boyfriend, leaving Edward to rip the curtains.

The discussion went forward to Benny & Joon and one of Schikel’s favorite subjets, Charlie Chaplain.  After airing the scene where Sam does his hat trick routine in the park, Johnny spoke about learning that, and the dancing roll routine, which he felt was even more difficult.

The moved on to a clip of “Ed Wood” and talked about Johnny’s inspiration for the character and Mr. Schikel asked Johnny about his ability to change his voice so much.  Johnny admitted to having grown up admiring Frank Gorshen and Richard Little, saying he did impersonations of teachers in school.

They were limited to 90 minutes, so they went on to discuss and show clips from “Donnie Brasco” and Johnny admitted that when he first read the book, before the script was completed, he didn’t like the character, but he flew to Florida to meet Joe Pistone, the real-life person, and within 15 minutes “fell in love” with the guy.

At that point Mr. Schickel went back to the subject of the type of characters Johnny chooses to play and how they were always outsiders.

They went on to talk about “Pirates of the Caribbean” and Mr. Schickel asked if Johnny was doing a full-out impersonation of Keith Richards.  Johnny said it was not an impersonation, but rather he was using the elements of Keith, Pepe LaPue, and someone who had been in the severe heat and at sea too long.  He spoke of sitting overly long in the sauna while reading the script and feeling himself rocking, and that is what lead to Jack’s singular way of moving and being at sea lead to his walk.

Lastly they showed a clip of “The Libertine” and Johnny said he was very proud of the picture.  Mr. Schikel said something about how he felt about the film and character, and then they closed by having another well done montage of Johnny’s films.

The audience was ushered out of the theater to get into line for the premiere screening of “The Libertine,” then finally close to 10 pm we were ushered back in.

One of the representatives of the AFI festival introduced Laurence Dunmore, who introduced the film, his love of doing it, then Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, and Johnny Depp.

Laurence spoke a little more, then invited each of them to say something.  Johnny was quite animated and again said how proud he was of this film and thanked everyone involved.  He jokingly said they would start the film with the four of them standing on the little stage, watching the audience to make sure no one was checking his watch or squirming in his seat.

At long last the lights went down and we saw The Libertine.  I will not do a review if it here, but simply say it was stunning.  I have read the play, which may have made the movie more easy for me to understand, but I certainly had no problem following the story, which is what some critics have claimed.  Perhaps they were unable to comprehend the period language, but the thrust of the film is quite powerful, the acting superb, and watching Rochester’s descent into hell was very moving and gut-wrenching.  This is probably Johnny’s greatest work to date as far as drama goes.  We see a man driven relentlessly by his need to be truthful at the expense of his acceptance in society, a man who drinks constantly, and a man who has lost or perhaps never had a real love of life finally find it only to have the spark that ignited that love slip through his fingers.

After the film Laurence Dunmore was outside the theater doors, speaking to everyone who wished to speak to him.  He was humble, but obviously he enjoyed the lavish praise everyone heaped upon him.  I heard a friend, Ginger, say it was like a moving painting, which he found quite gratifying.  I told him how moving it was, touching me deeply.  Not only was it a beautiful film to watch, but it has an effect upon the viewer emotionally.

Overall, it was one incredible night and I want to thank Sheila, Belinda and Pam for making it possible for me to get a ticket, and the ladies of JDA for holding my place in line until I could get there, BuccaRoux, Babs, Jenny, Pamela and Kat.