Metacritic Movie Ratings
The Libertine Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 75

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  Depp accepts the character and all of its baggage, and works without a net.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden

  Johnny Depp makes a riveting antihero in a dark and bawdy period drama.

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• 50

  out of 100

  The New York TimesManohla Dargis

  The rhythms of the dialogue move to the same beat as steadily as a metronome ticks and tocks, while every sentence is polished like stone, absent the jaggedness of real breath and life. You can hear the play in this thing without even knowing it was based on a theatrical production.

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• 50

  out of 100

  Variety

  Starting out seductive but ending up tiresome, debuting director Laurence Dunmore's pic is an honorable misfire.

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• 38

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  If your idea of a good time is watching a disjointed period piece featuring a scrawny dog defecating, dozens of dissipated people fornicating and a syphilitic Johnny Depp with oozing pustules on his face, The Libertine may be just the movie for you.

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• 30

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  A trying experience. As we watch Rochester fall apart in spectacular fashion, it's clear that a major lure for the venturesome Depp was the chance to play a grotesque, to become a pestilent physical wreck with an artificial silver nose. There's more in that role for the actor, however, than there is for us.

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• 0

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

  The Libertine is such a torturous mess that it winds up doing something I hadn't thought possible: It renders Johnny Depp charmless.

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See all The Libertine movie reviews at Metacritic.com