Set in 1675 England, the film chronicles the life of the decadent but brilliant Earl of Rochester, who is asked by King Charles II to write a play celebrating his reign, while simultaneously training Elizabeth Barry to improve her acting.

In 1675, John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, delivers a prologue of themes of his fondness for drink, his sexual proclivities, and his disdain for his audience.

Back in London, Rochester finds his "Merry Gang" friends, George Etherege and Charles Sackville, in a bawdy house.

The Merry Gang attend a play where the actress Elizabeth Barry is booed off the stage, then refuses to participate in a curtain call and is fired.

Later, Downs is mortally wounded in a sword fight outside the home of a Constable; Rochester backs away from his dying friend, whispering, "I told you."

Hiding from the king in the English countryside and sick with symptoms of syphilis, Rochester peddles phoney gynaecological "treatments" for women, including the selling of "potions" made from Alcock's urine.

Rochester uses make-up and a silver nose tip to hide the symptoms of syphilis as he enters the House of Lords hobbling on two canes.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite Johnny Depp's zealous performance, muddled direction and murky cinematography hinder The Libertine.

[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4 praising Johnny Depp's performance, stating "Libertines are not built for third acts.

Still, at the screenplay stage, 'The Libertine' might have seemed a safer bet than Pirates of the Caribbean, a movie [which] studio executives reportedly thought was unreleasable."