Le Libertin review

No sooner has Quills introduced us to the Marquis de Sade's purple prose than Le Libertin does the same for Diderot's Encyclopaedia, the catalyst for a saucy string of dangerous liaisons which wouldn't look out of place on the pages of Viz magazine.

Set in the late 18th century, the action unfolds in a remote French château where Diderot (Vincent Perez) juggles writing with satisfying his sexual appetites. He's struggling to finish a chapter on morality - - no wonder when he's distracted by gay threesomes, black eunuchs and women addicted to cunnilingus, not forgetting a repressed cardinal (Michel Serrault) determined to put his printing press out of business.

Director Gabriel Aghion's latest isn't sophisticated, but as costume romps go it isn't bad. Josiane Balasko steals the show as a hedonistic baroness whose epicurean interests extend to caviar, Turkish delight and a strange new delicacy called popcorn...