You’ve probably seen the memes. A baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio, long before he was freezing to death in the Atlantic or fighting bears for an Oscar, looking like a disheveled angel with a very bad attitude. That’s Arthur Rimbaud. Specifically, that’s Leo as Rimbaud in the 1995 film Total Eclipse.
Most people today only know this movie through grainy TikTok edits set to melancholic synth-wave. It’s aesthetic. It’s moody. But the actual film? It’s a chaotic, sweaty, and deeply uncomfortable experience that almost nobody liked when it came out.
Honestly, it’s a miracle it even exists.
The Movie That Almost Didn't Have Leo
Before we get into the absinthe-soaked drama on screen, the behind-the-scenes story is just as heavy. Originally, the role of Arthur Rimbaud—the teen genius who basically invented modern poetry and then quit at 20—wasn't meant for DiCaprio. It was written for River Phoenix.
When Phoenix tragically died in 1993, the project stalled. Leo, who was already building a reputation for picking "difficult" and "gritty" indie roles like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, stepped in. He was only 19 or 20 at the time.
He was paired with David Thewlis, who played Paul Verlaine. You probably know Thewlis as Remus Lupin from Harry Potter, but here, he’s playing a pathetic, alcoholic, and violent poet who abandons his pregnant wife to run away with a teenager. It’s not a "fun" watch. It’s messy.
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What Total Eclipse Leonardo DiCaprio Gets Right (and Very Wrong)
The film follows the true—and extremely toxic—relationship between Rimbaud and Verlaine in the 1870s. Rimbaud arrives in Paris with nothing but a few poems and a complete lack of manners. He’s a brat. He pisses on people's work. He stabs Verlaine’s hand in a bar just to see what happens.
Director Agnieszka Holland didn't want to make a "pretty" period piece. She wanted something raw.
The Performance
Leo plays Rimbaud as an alien. He’s beautiful but cruel. One minute he’s a genius, the next he’s barking like a dog. Critics at the time absolutely hated it. They thought he was too "California" for a French poet. They weren't wrong about the accent—it’s non-existent. Leo just talks like Leo.
But looking back, that "American teenager" energy kinda works. Rimbaud was a disruptor. He was the original punk. Having him feel out of place among the stuffy French elite makes sense, even if it wasn't intentional.
The Historical Horror
If you think Hollywood dramatized the violence, think again. The real-life story is arguably worse.
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- Verlaine actually shot Rimbaud in the wrist during a drunken argument in Brussels.
- Verlaine went to prison for two years, not just for the shooting, but for "sodomy."
- Rimbaud eventually ended up in Ethiopia, dealing arms and losing a leg to cancer.
The movie covers all of this. It’s episodic. It’s weirdly paced. Sometimes it feels like a series of arguments that just won't end.
Why It Failed at the Box Office
Let’s talk numbers. Total Eclipse was a total disaster commercially. It had a budget of around $11 million and grossed... well, hardly anything. In its domestic theatrical run, it brought in about $340,000. That’s not a typo.
Mainstream audiences in 1995 weren't ready for a movie where the two male leads—one of whom was a rising teen heartthrob—had a brutal, non-romanticized sexual relationship. It wasn't Brokeback Mountain. It was "two terrible people ruining each other's lives."
The reviews were equally harsh. Rotten Tomatoes has it sitting at a dismal 24%. Critics called it "hysterically psycho-sexual" and "unbearable."
Why We Are Still Talking About It in 2026
If the movie was such a flop, why does it have a cult following now?
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It’s the "Leo Completist" effect. To understand how DiCaprio became the powerhouse he is today, you have to look at these early swings. He wasn't afraid to be loathsome. He wasn't afraid of the full-frontal nudity (which Thewlis did, though Leo mostly kept his pants on) or the intense gay themes.
In a weird way, Total Eclipse is the bridge between his "indie darling" phase and the "global superstar" phase that started with Romeo + Juliet just a year later.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Cinephiles
If you’re planning to dive into this movie for the first time, don't go in expecting a romance. It’s a tragedy about the cost of genius and the ugliness of obsession.
- Read the Poetry First: To actually appreciate why Verlaine would ruin his life for this kid, you need to read Rimbaud’s A Season in Hell. The movie doesn't do a great job of explaining the art; it focuses entirely on the drama.
- Contextualize the "Leo-Mania": Watch this back-to-back with The Basketball Diaries. You’ll see a young actor pushing his limits before the Hollywood machine tried to turn him into a permanent "pretty boy."
- Check the Supporting Cast: Romane Bohringer, who plays Verlaine's wife Mathilde, gives the most grounded performance in the movie. She represents the "normal" world being destroyed by these two "geniuses."
Ultimately, Total Eclipse isn't a "good" movie in the traditional sense. It’s loud, it’s annoying, and the accents are all over the place. But as a piece of film history—and as a glimpse into the raw, unfiltered talent of a young Leonardo DiCaprio—it’s impossible to ignore. It’s a beautiful train wreck that looks better in screenshots than it does in motion, yet it remains a essential chapter for anyone trying to map the career of Hollywood's last true movie star.
To get the most out of the experience, seek out the Warner Archive Collection version for the best visual quality, as the old DVD transfers don't do the cinematography justice.