Smoreni Zmaj The story of John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, playwright and poet of the 17th century, the man who led a bohemian life to the extreme and drove himself to early grave at 33. This role brought Johnny Depp award for the most offensive male role (Women Film Critics Circle Awards) and there are also fantastic John Malkovich, funny Richard Coyle and beautiful Rosamund Pike. Sex, drugs and rock and roll in the manner of 17th century. :D8/10

Phantasma_the_Black I find this movie beautiful, intriguing, touching and somewhat disturbing. Pretty much artistic, yet appealing to different types of audience. However, most likely it won't be enjoyable for everyone, because of explicit content and perhaps disturbing images.Director Lawrence Dunmore did an amazing job and created something that could easily be considered as a masterpiece. Johnny Depp gave a standout performance (one of the best in his career; he should have won Oscar for it), as well as Samantha Morton, John Malkovich and Rosamund Pike.I've heard many people complaining how "dark" the movie is, as if it was filmed in shadows. But that's what XVII century was like - shady, dark and dirty.One of the best aspects of the movie is both physical and psychological metamorphosis of the main character. In the first part of the movie we see a man who has everything, but values nothing. Most people around him like him only because he's well known, gorgeous looking and influential person. Those who do really know him, such as his wife and mother, truly love him the way he is, but he doesn't seem to care much about them As the movie proceeds he finds true love, that, as he said, teaches him "how to love life", but he becomes ill and everyone begins to avoid him. Ironically, the only people who are there for him at that point are the ones whose love he had never appreciated.One could possibly say it's a shame that it hadn't been a major Hollywood project, because more people would have heard of it, but I think it's better this way, since it has avoided some of the boring Hollywood clichés.

anton_svantesson I bought this film on DVD yesterday, and my expectations were very high. One of the reason was because of the great cast. Johnny Depp, John Malkovich, Samantha Morton, Rosamound Pike, Tom Hollander among others. I had never heard of the film's director, Laurence Dunmore. So it was nice with a debut-film.The film's opening prologue was amazing. It gives us an idea what kind of person The Earl of Rochester (Johnny Depp) is. We are introduced to a muddy, grainy and raw London. We are also introduced to other characters: King Charles II (John Malkovich), George (Tom Hollander), Mrs Rochester (Rosamound Pike), Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton).All of the characters are well developed and good. The actors gives us very good and credible performances. In particular Johnny Depp. That guy is great. One of the greatest actors of his generation. Like other actors of course, he has been involved with movies that aren't so good. But he never fails to deliver a good performance though. In this movie he gives an Oscar-worthy performance. His character is so despicable and non-likable, that you just hate him from the very beginning. But later in the film, he kind of changes, and you actually gets an chance to sympathize with him. Depp gives us a wide river of emotions. Anger, loss, love, arrogance, sadness. A performance of a lifetime. He's just phenomenal.Dunmore's direction is good. He knows what he wants with this story, and how the environments are gonna look like. The screenplay is very well-written. There's a lot of humor in the film. In some parts to say the least. The dialog is very witty, cynical, and just completely wonderful. There's a lot of bad language like "fuck", "cunt", "prick" etc.I give this movie 8 out of 10. A strong 8 of 10

Carol Clements It has never ceased to amaze me that this film has almost bypassed most of the viewing public. Depp's performance is Oscar-worthy. The film has humour, pathos, intense drama at times, and the ending is heart-wrenching. I defy anyone to watch this film and not find it one of the most memorable, even if it can't be said to be 'enjoyable'. What surprises me the most is that the younger members of our household (over 18, but usually more into slash and gore films like the Saw series) have found this film compelling enough to watch it several times. They don't just watch the raunchy scenes either - they find the entire film spell-binding. Depp's final physical appearance is difficult to witness. His performance is utterly stunning. This film is an absolute must-see.