Johnny Depp appeared at the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday night and grew teary-eyed upon receiving a seven-minute standing ovation from the French audience. The actor hasn’t appeared in public since his lengthy legal battle last year with ex-wife Amber Heard.
Variety reports that Depp joined actor/director Maïwenn and fellow cast members to support their new film Jeanne Du Barry, which stars Maïwenn as a working-class woman in 18th-century France who climbs the social ladder and becomes King Louis XV’s lover. Depp portrays Louis the Beloved, alongside a supporting cast including Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Melvil Poupaud, and Pascal Greggory.
After the screening and subsequent ovation for Jeanne Du Barry, Maïwenn gave brief remarks about how appreciative she is of her collaborators. She also noted how difficult it was to finance the film. Depp told reporters that as a director Maïwenn’s “vision for the film was entirely consistent” throughout production, adding that she “did a beautiful job on set.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, despite the warm mood within the Palais des Festivals, a group identifying as French feminists rallied outside to distribute a letter recounting the allegations against Depp and calling for an end to the power dynamics that have ruled the movie-making industry since its inception. The letter stated:
“Choosing to open the world’s most prestigious film festival with an attacker waving at the crowd on the red carpet … conveys a clear, devastating message. In 2023, the voices of victims and their allies continue to be questioned, ignored, and silenced by others. We ask for a responsible film industry that is willing to get rid of dynamics of power. We demand that the cinema that defends the ideas and values we hold dear does so not only in its narratives and representations, but also in the way it is made and screened.”
Although it’s tempting to judge the reaction at Cannes as evidence that Depp’s comeback is assured, keep in mind that Cannes audiences are famous for either jeering a movie and walking out or giving it a ridiculously long standing ovation. There’s not much in between, at least for event films like Jeanne Du Barry. Heck, even Clerks II and Kevin Smith got a longer ovation than Depp did yesterday, which we’re reminded of every year around this time by those who remember:
However, it’s less common for an ovation to happen inside the theater while people outside circulate pamphlets condemning the star. According to reports, the division was inescapable even within the Cannes sound system: Depp and company apparently walked the red carpet to the tune of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” which as an accidental hypothetical from Depp to his audience, is pretty perfect.
