Before Pirates of the Caribbean rocketed him to the top of the A-list, turning him into one of the highest-paid stars in the industry and a regular presence in big budget blockbusters, Johnny Depp was regularly lauded as one of the eccentric darlings of independent cinema.
It was a reputation that took him years to cultivate, and he fully earned it through a series of stellar performances in lo-fi dramas and offbeat comedies. One notable example that crossed over in a major way to find mainstream prominence was Lasse Hallström’s 2000 effort Chocolat, which became a critical and commercial smash hit.
Released just a year after the novel of the same name by Joanne Harris hit shelves, the movie offset a fairly unimpressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 62% to become an awards season favorite, landing five Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, on top of a $152 million box office haul.
Despite his recent career struggles, Depp supporters will continue to back him to the hilt, which is why we should realistically be expecting Chocolat to make an impression on the Netflix most-watched list over the coming days now that it’s available to stream on the platform.