"The LIbertine"

When Charles, Jim and I took the kids to dinner at the Double T Diner in White Marsh the other night, I happened to mention to Charley Lauren that I had watched the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie the night before on t.v. We both agreed we liked Johnny Depp's foppish performance. She said she thought she had seen everything he had played in and started naming off movies, including "The Libertine," which she was particularly puzzled that I hadn't seen because the person it was about, John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, had been a poet and was, apparently, included in her British Lit text first semester. I was puzzled because, having been an English major, it seems I should have heard of him, but I was sure he was not in MY old college Brit Lit text.

So I checked that out when I remembered the other day and sure enough, he was not in mine(the Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1,1968). However, I did find info about him and some of his poetry on the internet, and then I also got out "TheLibertine" from the local video store and watched it yesterday. Can't say I loved it, as it is a very disturbing story to say the least, but it was interesting. I still think Depp's steamiest performance was in "Chocolat."