The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
[Director] Dunmore creates a memorably grimy London, but the moral grime covering the film proves less memorable.
– Keith Phipps,
AV Club,
27 Nov 2006
rotten:
What emerges from the bilious murk of first-time director Laurence Dunmore's film is a sad picture of an intelligent and talented writer who opted for self-indulgence and gratuitous insult over anything more meaningful.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
10 Mar 2006
rotten:
As the character grows sicker and quieter, the drama's energy fades.
– Moira MacDonald,
Seattle Times,
10 Mar 2006
rotten:
The point seems to be that too much of a good thing leads to a vast sense of nothingness and bleak cinematography. Alas, it also results in transforming a film about a sensualist into a remarkably sexless enterprise.