For the first time in three years, American movie star Johnny Depp made an appearance on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival's opening night.
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Before the opening of Jeanne du Barry, in which he co-stars with actress and director Maween as Louis XV, he signed autographs and posed for photos with admirers.
It is Depp's first significant acting position following a string of high-profile legal disputes with his ex-wife Amber Heard.
There was a standing ovation for the movie.
Depp allegedly broke down in tears in reaction, but the reviews from reviewers have been less enthusiastic.
The French-language movie is about a woman who was born into poverty and ended up being the last mistress of the French monarch, and she is portrayed by Maureen.
However, the choice to invite Depp to the event has generated controversy, which has caused the hashtag #CannesYouNot to gain traction on social media.
Three years ago, he was fired from the Fantastic Beasts series after losing a libel suit against a tabloid for calling him a wife abuser.
After Heard identified herself as a victim of abuse in the Washington Post, he successfully sued her for defamation last year.
Thierry Fremaux, the festival's director, stated on Monday that he was uninterested in Depp's legal troubles and added, "I am interested in Depp the actor."
I don't feel like Hollywood is boycotting me, Depp said during a press conference to promote the movie. I do not consider Hollywood. I'm independent of Hollywood.
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According to Steve Pond of The Wrap, the first night of Cannes had a conflict "between a movie and a lot of stuff that didn't have much to do with the movie".
And Jeanne du Barry, the film, just wasn't able to put up much of a fight.
He speculated that perhaps the debate was what made the movie stand out. "A movie that just isn't potent enough to grab any headlines on its own," he added.
The lavish period drama, which also had Maween as the principal character and was written and directed by him, was filmed at the Palace of Versailles with some costumes made by Chanel.
Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter claims that while being "sumptuously made... with jaw-dropping costumes," it is nevertheless "kind of bland."
"Even the hiring of Johnny Depp as the monarch, which some may call stunt casting, gives a few early thrills and then generally yawns. Depp delivers what seems like a dozen lines in acceptable French while keeping silent throughout the film.
Both Mawenn's and his performance in the starring part weren't subpar. However, unlike the movie, the two of them seldom ever make us anxious.
Depp's performance is "suspiciously light on dialogue," according to Damon Wise of Deadline, who also lamented the lack of emotion on screen.
He commented, "Jeanne du Barry must definitely be the PG version if Mawenn's heroine truly did sleep her way to the top and go to an early grave labeled "sin incarnate."
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the movie three stars and lauded its "watchability" as well as the "spectacular casting" of Johnny Depp.
However, he said, "Louis and Jeanne are not fully convincing as a love tale, maybe due to the cynicism in which they are both involved and also due to the performances being a little hazy.
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It's a fun show that only partially recognizes its own conceit.
According to Variety's Peter Debruge, the choice to cast Depp felt "apt, for there must be a palpable power differential between Louis and his latest infatuation".
Depp, for his part, speaks in well-turned French while donning exquisite powder and a stiff white wig, and yet he appears oddly uneasy in the character; he is passable but not much interested, the reviewer continued.
It's strange because even when Depp's Louis is actually intended to be winking (at Jeanne), the sparkle isn't there because Depp is the type of actor who virtually always performs with a wink. The connection we want to exist between the two characters is sapped by that odd absence of complicity.
Depp was characterized as "very American, very misplaced" by Rafaela Sales Ross of the Playlist in the movie, where his French accent is "almost as distracting as his distorted make-up."
She continued, "If it weren't for the widely-publicized scandals surrounding Jeanne du Barry, it's likely that the movie would quickly transition from the red carpet to ostracism. And while the uproar undoubtedly delays the process, it will do little to save Mawenn's terrible latest from the merciless hands of oblivion.
Kevin Maher of the Times had more sympathy when he stated Mawenn had gotten an "impressively controlled performance" out of Depp, but the movie isn't really about him anyhow.
He said, "It's occasionally too exquisite for its own good. However, it's also sensible and grounded, and it's perhaps Depp's greatest chance for rehabilitation.
"The combination of Depp and Maween may have seemed like a dangerous one, but on this occasion.
