With few disposable income options, Jeanne works as a courtesan, but she is above both physically and intellectually, and she attracts the attention of a client with palace connections. Here, the film’s faithful theme of the whore with the heart of gold takes flight as Jeanne bonds with her lover’s young son, an act notably – even annoyingly – repeated elsewhere in the film.
A member of the French court thought Joan might have what it took to turn the perceptive crank of King Louis XV, and indeed she did. Here, the story moves from Jeanne’s account of being a wise woman with limited resources to a budding romance between her and the king, played by Johnny Depp in his first French-language role, although his dialogue is minimal.
Naturally, the French court, and especially the king’s adult daughters, are scandalized by his affair with the free-spirited former prostitute, who has the temerity to look the king in the eye when they first meet, undo your hair, and put on pants. However, the king has never been happier, and he permanently parks Jeanne in Versailles as his official mistress.
We sense that this will not end well, especially with the ambivalent Dauphin (played by Maïwenn’s son, Diego Le Fur) and his haughty and antagonistic wife, Marie-Antoinette, waiting in the wings. See also the impending French Revolution.
