Stunt casting is always a surefire way to get your independent movie some attention, so kudos to the makers of a new biopic of 19th Century French poet and dramatist Alfred de Musset, who have scored Pete Doherty for their cast. He's apparently set to star opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg.
If rock star and comedian Doherty has been off your radar recently, it might be because he's decamped to France, following a court ruling banning him from living in London. There he's picked up something of a following: his poetry ("Frowns and Pouts in Paris and London"), tunes and general demeanour drawing comparisons with Charlotte's bad-boy father Serge.
Little has yet come to light about the film itself, but de Musset was both a celebrated literary figure and a notorious dandy, so on paper at least, does seem like some sort of fit for the Libertines and Babyshambles frontman (assuming he's actually being trusted with the lead role). De Musset's works included collections of poetry and a celebrated autobiography, The Confessions of a Child of the Age (filmed in 1999 with Juliette Binoche as de Musset's lover, the novelist George Sand). He received the Legion d'Honneur in 1845, at the same time as Honore de Balzac, and died twelve years later from alcoholism.
"The story is a love triangle, so it's pretty intense and romantic," says Doherty. "I don't know if I'm a good actor, but they say I am."
He's been acting a musician with some success for some years now, but he's notorious for not even showing up to his own gigs, so getting him to a film set every day should prove a challenge. We'll believe this when we see it, frankly. But if the film does turn out to be a work of genius, with an Oscar-worthy performance from its debutante star, we promise we'll eat our words.
Charlotte Gainsbourg has just finished Lars Von Trier's Melancholia, and Doherty's recent jottings can be read on his website.