Jeanne du Barry

As a working-class woman, the young Jeanne Vaubernier (played by director Maïwan) yearns for a higher status, an almost impossible dream that nevertheless comes true through her charms; step by step she manages to climb the social ladder. When she meets King Louis XV (an eccentric Johnny Depp), it is love at first sight. She becomes his courtesan, and a scandal at Versailles ensues—because no one wants a street girl at court… The film opened the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. ‘An entertaining spectacle… A preposterous confection of a movie, like one of the rich sweetmeats being languidly nibbled at court, but very moreish, nonetheless. It is handsomely furnished and costumed with blue-chip character actors in the supporting roles and some wonderful locations and interiors at the Palace of Versailles itself.’—Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian