MEET THE EARL: THE ORIGINS OF THE LIBERTINE

"He was the spirit of wit ~ and had such an art in guilding his failures, that it was hard not to love his faults."

Nathaniel Lee, Eulogizing The 2nd Earl of Rochester

Living on the edge, partying like there might be no tomorrow, and only too happy to push the boundaries of art and wild behavior to new extremes, John Wilmot's fascinating life, anti-hero stance and tragic early flame-out today sounds remarkably like that of a modern celebrity - a Jimi Hendrix, a Lenny Bruce or a John Belushi, perhaps. Yet Wilmot lived in the 17th century. In a time of absolute monarchy and codified social manners, he demonstrated an outrageousness that has made him an enduring symbol of the untamed lust for life. Portrayed by the award-winning Johnny Depp in THE LIBERTINE, Wilmot is a character like no other.
John Wilmot was born in 1647, the son of the First Earl of Rochester, into an England that was emerging from the Middle Ages and heading into a decadent first brush with modern times and morals. Demonstrating a youthful brilliance, Rochester went off at the age of 12 to study at Oxford, where it was said that he first "grew debauched." After becoming a young hero in sea battles against the Dutch, he developed a reputation across Europe as a highly unconventional personality -- at once brilliant and dangerously blasphemous. Though his sexually explicit poems and satirical plays shocked the critics of the day, they also made him a leading literary light, later to be admired by Defoe, quoted by Tennyson and an inspiration to Voltaire.
His fame really began to grow when he joined the court of King Charles II, the charismatic monarch who was known for his tolerance, merriment and love of the arts. Still, even the forward-thinking King did not know how to handle this firebrand genius. Though he held great affection for Rochester, the King was incensed by the man's libelous plays and wicked pranks, not to mention his innumerable sexual dalliances and devil-may-care willingness to criticize even the King himself. Rochester often drew fame for his bold adventures, including the kidnapping of his future wife, the then teen-aged heiress Elizabeth Malet. Though he was imprisoned in the infamous Tower of London for his crime, the young Earl begged for and received the King's forgiveness. Not only that, but his young victim agreed to marry him.
Even in the bawdy atmosphere of Charles II's court, Rochester stood out as a man apart. Yet, the ultimate price of Rochester's personal freedom may well have been his own destruction. At the height of his celebrity, the 2nd Earl of Rochester entered into a series of escapades that would lead him into unremitting darkness, drunkenness and regret. During this period he concentrated his efforts not on his own life, but on helping Elizabeth Barry realize her place as the greatest actress on the London stage. He died at the early age of 33, although not before experiencing a last-minute epiphany of redemption for his soul on his deathbed.
Art Imitates Life - adaptation
George Etherege's play The Man of Mode was first performed in 1676; its hero Dorimant was, according to tradition, based on Etherege's friend, the 2nd Earl of Rochester. A few hundred years later, Rochester was reborn again, this time as the inspiration for a widely acclaimed play, written by Stephen Jeffreys, that probed the connections between genius and decadence, freedom and danger, as well as lust and love. A runaway hit on the London stage, the theatrical version of THE LIBERTINE first came to America at Chicago's lauded Steppenwolf Theatre with leading stage and screen star John Malkovich taking the title role. Endlessly fascinated by his character, Malkovich suggested to Jeffreys that THE LIBERTINE should also be a motion picture.
Recalls Jeffreys: "Half way through the production, Malkovich sidled up to me and said Hey Steve, do y'wanna make a movie of this? You don't say no in that sort of situation!"
Oddly enough, Jeffreys originally had his interest in the 2nd Earl of Rochester sparked while in the dentist's chair. "My dentist, the great Gerald Lightman, announced that his daughter was turning thirteen and there were some books in his collection that he didn't want her to read so he'd been distributing them amongst his patients," the writer explains. "He decided I should be the recipient of Soddom and the Quintessence of Debauchery by the Earl of Rochester. I'd managed to get through a whole university English degree without hearing much about Rochester, but when I read the book, I could see immediately why Gerald didn't want his daughter to read it! It was the filthiest play I'd read and I've read quite a few."
Intrigued by what kind of person the Earl must have been - and how he became England's most fearless rule-breaking libertine -- Jeffreys dove into historical research that only increased his interest in a character who seemed fresh and contemporary, even amidst a 17th century atmosphere.
"Rochester refused to obey any of the rules and dictates of his age," says Jeffreys. "I found his desire to go his own way fascinating, and equally fascinating is that he was one of those people who built this tremendous life and then set about tragically destroying it. His story is one of the darker side of human nature in the middle of the Enlightenment."
Now, at Malkovich's urging, Jeffreys returned to the material again, this time to condense the adventure-, romance- and ruin-filled last years of Rochester's life into a cinematic entertainment.
When director Laurence Dunmore - an acclaimed commercials director looking to make his first feature film - came across an early draft of THE LIBERTINE, he too was enthralled by the character of Rochester. "I saw THE LIBERTINE as a compelling examination of a passionate man's life, loves and genius - and his incredible knack for betraying his talent with his actions," explains Dunmore. "Regardless of how much he loved and cared for the people around him, Rochester seemed incapable of stopping himself from destroying the very things that mattered to him."
He continues: "Like so many magical, shortened lives, his was full of incredible things. The story isn't one of bleak despair, but rather a roller coaster of emotions, ideas and provocative questions."
Dunmore and Jeffreys spent a year working together on the adaptation, heightening the story's cinematic potential. "Stephen is an absolute phenomenal genius of a writer," says Dunmore of their collaboration. "We went through a whole process which was incredibly fulfilling for me - and we ended up with a great script that I felt could live and breathe as a movie. The writing is very smart yet it is also funny and entertaining."
Jeffreys was equally thrilled with Dunmore's contribution. He summarizes: "Laurence has the most incredible cinematic eye, a way of seeing things in pictures that was a tremendous influence on telling the full story of this fascinating, self-destructive man."

ROGUES AND ROYALS: THE CAST OF THE LIBERTINE
To play the Restoration rebel who dares the audience to like him in spite of his unbridled decadent ways, the filmmakers always had one leading man in mind: Johnny Depp. The charismatic actor known for bringing his own edgy spin to some of contemporary cinema's most memorable roles - from rabble-rousing Captain Jack in "The Pirates of the Caribbean" to the childhood-adoring creator of Peter Pan in "Neverland" to the iconic Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was immediately taken by the opportunity presented to him as he makes clear "From an actors standpoint, you read that opening monologue and then the ride commences. You know when you are reading that beautiful dialogue and these amazing, incredible scenes one after the next, that you'll never ever see the likes of that again."
Recalls Laurence Dunmore: "I remember the day Johnny called to say he was coming on board. It's a wonder the police squad cars and helicopters weren't called in as this weird English guy was suddenly lying on his back in downtown LA punching the air shouting Yes! Yes! Yes! Needless to say, I opened a bottle of wine shortly afterwards to celebrate."
While Dunmore celebrated, Depp immersed himself in the role: "My approach was to learn the guy and to learn everything I could about him, to understand why, how did he arrive there… how did he arrive at that need for such excess and the need for self medication ? Because I don't think it was about fun for him". And the more the research he did, the more inspired by the characters he became, "I was given the opportunity to go to the British Library and to read some of his letters, in his own hand. Something that I found amazing and surprising and shocking in a way, were his letters to his wife and his letters to his mother; which were very very soft most of the time. Very delicate, very soft and sweet. Even ending at times with "May God bless you and keep you". From this guy who was, by all accounts, a great atheist….that really confused me and intrigued me."
With Depp taking on the role of Rochester, John Malkovich chose to play King Charles II, the jovial ruler and forward thinker who became another of the era' most beloved and written-about characters. The two figures were engaged in one of the periods' more complicated relationships. Rochester's father (also named John Wilmot) was created the Earl of Rochester in 1652 for military services to Charles II and is credited with having helped hide the King in a tree to prevent him from being murdered. He died abroad two years before the restoration of monarchy in England.
Says Malkovich, "Charles felt fatherly leanings toward Rochester, I suppose, and fathers (or fatherly figures) often indulge when they really probably should not. If someone is extraordinarily talented, they almost always can get away with murder if they choose to." Another of the complications between the two he suspects involved their mutual admiration of women and drink. "It's sort of, well, 'I drink all the time and I have sex all the time and I'm still at work at 8:30.' That there was time to enjoy life, as you say, and still get on with your life's work. Rochester was never really able to do that and Charles was. I think that was a source of friction not just from Charles toward Rochester but also from Rochester toward Charles."
With Depp and Malkovich set, the filmmakers were also able to win over their first choice for Elizabeth Barry, the Earl's alluring protégé who becomes one of England's biggest stars: Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton who won acclaim for her roles in Jim Sheridan's "In America", "Morvern Callar", and Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown".
Morton was immediately taken by the screenplay for THE LIBERTINE. "What interested me was the love story between Rochester and Barry, two people who pushed the wire right to the very edge," says the actress. "I was intrigued by their dynamic and how they both seemed willed to risk so much for their personal growth."
Though Morton researched the real life of Barry, she knew that to have the portrait really come alive, she'd have to go beyond historical facts into something more instinctual. "I was inspired by certain things I read and saw about her and about Restoration times but it didn't dominate my development of her," she explains. "I feel if you rely too heavily on research, you're not getting enough from your own instincts. Obviously, there are certain rules of etiquette people followed in those days, certain restrictions because of the costumes, so that plays a part in it. But for me, the character of Elizabeth was really about emotions that are timeless."
One of the most challenging aspects of embodying Elizabeth Barry was portraying an actress who also stars in her own varied Restoration-era entertainment roles in the course of the film. "It was a challenge because I not only had to play Elizabeth Barry but also be good enough to play Elizabeth Barry playing Ophelia and earning a standing ovation!" notes Morton.
Perhaps Morton's greatest joy on the film came in working with Johnny Depp as Elizabeth's patron and lover. "Creatively, working with Johnny Depp was wonderful and I think the chemistry between us was tip-top," she says. "It was very rewarding."
For Rosamund Pike, who plays Rochester' wife, Elizabeth Malet, collaborating with Depp was also a major highlight of THE LIBERTINE, one that helped bring the centuries-old story to immediate life. "Johnny is so utterly natural in everything that he does that you believe totally in the world he creates around him," she observes. "We never felt inhibited or restricted by the period. If anything the feeling on the set was, well, very liberating."
Pike was fascinated by the history of Rochester and Malet - how he abducted her, served time in jail for his crime, then married her, only to be terribly unfaithful - and especially by Malet's temperament. "Elizabeth might be the long suffering wife but she was a woman of great character who was never meek," notes Pike. "I think she really feels a connection with Rochester and she understands him in a way no one else does. But that isn't enough for him. And I think we all can relate to that feeling of being in love with someone who always needs to push the limits."
Another woman in Rochester's life is his prostitute friend Jane, who explains to Rochester that men generally have three great loves in their life: a calf's love, the one you marry and your deathbed bride. Playing Jane is notable British actress and theatre star Kelly Reilly, who was drawn in by the compelling nature of Rochester's life and relationships with women.
"When I read the script, I thought it was unlike any other story that has been told about the dark side of man's soul," says Reilly. "Rochester was completely dedicated to a decadent lifestyle at a time when life in general was very, very hard and he made it somehow beautiful."
She continues: "Jane is actually the same sort of animal as Rochester. She's really alive and bright and vivid, but she also knows her place with Rochester and accepts it. She has a lot of candor and she doesn't try to be anything other than what she is and I love that about her. I also love that she loves Rochester without trying to change him."
On the set, Reilly was especially impressed by how much bravery the story seemed to require of the actors. "The whole nature of THE LIBERTINE is that you can't shy away from it. You have to have the courage of your convictions and really go for it," she summarizes. "The story is very theatrical and filled with big characters, so that challenge was to try to enter this world whole-heartedly and without any reservations."
She adds: "Of course, when you have Johnny Depp and John Malkovich and Samantha Morton around you, it helps a lot to bring your own game up a notch!"
Rounding out the cast are a number of renowned British stars including Tom Hollander as the inventive Restoration playwright Sir George Etherege and popular stand-up comedian Johnny Vegas as the historical rake and wit, Charles Sackville. Sums up Vegas: "THE LIBERTINE is one of the most challenging things I've ever done. The script was really rich and funny - and it's fascinating to see how in some ways society hasn't changed all that much."

THE RESTORATION RE-ENVISIONED: THE LOOK OF THE LIBERTIN
The 2nd Earl of Rochester's story unfolds smack in the middle of The Restoration, a time of radical new ideas, heightened sexual permissiveness and a joyful lavishness in theatre, parties and lifestyles - a kind of precursor to the 20th century's "Swinging 60s," albeit 300 years earlier. But it was also a society just emerging from the Middle Ages, still ravaged by rampant disease, superstition, poverty and urban squalor.
In THE LIBERTINE, director Laurence Dunmore set out to capture the wildly shifting moods of Rochester's times with a gritty, in-your-face realism that hasn't been brought to the period before. He did so by focusing not only on the opulence and splendor of the court but the dingy, rank dynamism of the city streets.
"I was looking to create a film where you could practically smell the atmosphere," he notes. "I wanted to forge a very real 17th century look that didn't feel like it was created in the 21st century. I wanted to use as much natural light as possible and I wanted to swamp the screen with mud, mist, rain and smoke. I wanted there to be a big contrast between Rochester's stately home life and the tremendous energy, excitement and movement of his life in London."
Dunmore's decision to highlight both the elaborate decadence and the seedier sides of the Restoration meant he would need an extremely skilled and creative design team. At the center of it was cinematographer Alex Melman who collaborated closely with Dunmore in developing a unique look for the film.
"Rochester is a man who drank and loved his way to an early grave so we wanted to give THE LIBERTINE a kind of darkness and rawness not usually associated with period movies," he explains. "We didn't want a clean, pretty look. We wanted the grungiest, dirtiest look we could find! But even though there's a lot of mud and smoke in the film, at the same time there's a beauty that comes out of all the dirt and haze. The film is very beautiful in its own way."
To further draw a stark contrast between Rochester's two worlds - both inside the aristocratic realm and out on the streets of London - the filmmakers used a variety of photographic techniques. "We use a lot of rich colors that convey the magic of the theatrical world- and then contrast that with a much more grainy realism whenever Rochester goes out into the ordinary outside world," explains Melman.
Melman also worked with production designer Ben Van Os (Oscar nominee The Girl with a Pearl Earring and Orlando) and costume designer Dien Van Straalen (Oscar nominee The Girl with a Pearl Earring) to come up with a very detailed color palette that is woven throughout the film's entire design and enhanced with primarily natural light. "Everything was in a muted, dirty zone," he says of the film's hues. "We worked with a combination of filters in antique suede, jade green and storm blue. We lit pretty much everything with candles and we even used green filters to take away any warmth from the candles and put a kind of green pallor into all the flesh tones."
In an unusual move, director Dunmore often operated the camera for the film's largely hand-held photographic work himself. "I decided very early on, as I'd done with a lot of commercials, that I'd put the camera on my shoulder and operate it myself, rather than the more traditional way or putting it onto a dolly or a crane," he explains. "Partly I did it in order to be able to move fast. It also meant we didn't waste time trying to work out tricky moves. The important thing for me was to create a very fluid style to capture the action. Putting the camera on my shoulder and making it hand-held meant I could spend time with the actors and sit next to them while they were performing, allowing the scenes to unfold in front of me. I found it immensely liberating and think the performances benefited from it. I rarely had ear phones on for the dialogue because I was sat right next to them - I could hear them breathing. This created a lot of intimacy."
It wasn't only the director who was aware of the speed required by the demanding schedule, as Johnny Depp notes: "What you would normally shoot on another film for five days or a week we would shoot these things in a day or less….you got the takes and you got your prints and you got out and you moved to the next bit and there was never any down time really, it was that intense." Depp continues: "It was never never an easy day. Every day was super intense. Every day was tons of words, tons of verbage, tons of spewing…It was constantly like trying to protect yourself…taking bodyshots and headshots constantly and that's what it was for the full 45 days.…difficult, exhausting but amazing and well worth it."
Also essential to the film was getting the locations right. Dunmore logged a remarkable 8,000 miles on his car roaming Britain in search of authentic-feeling castles and estates. Eventually, the film's locations included Tretower Court in Wales -- one of the best surviving examples of a medieval gentleman's mansion; a number of National Trust properties in Somerset such as Montecute near Yeovil and Charlecute in Oxfordshire; Hampton Court Palace in Surrey; and the magnificent Wells Cathedral. For the interiors, the production traveled to the Isle of Man, an up and coming bastion for filmmakers on the Irish Sea, where the film's sets were built by Ben Van Os.

MAKE UP AND HAIR DESIGN
DIRECTOR LAURENCE DUNMORE
WRITER STEPHEN JEFFREYS