Dir. Lasse Hallstrom, US, 2005, 108 mins
Cast: Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt, Lena Olin, Omid Djalili
Review by Karen Krizanovich
Heath Ledger, Oscar nominated for his role in Brokeback Mountain, has a field day in this post-modern romp as the world's foremost lady's man in18th century Venice. Beautifully costumed and showing Venice at its most vivid, Casanova recites an unusual story of how he wasn't such a bad guy after all. This is as far as one can get from Fellini's gorgeous, more serious take on the man, who here seems merely misunderstood rather than an endless seducer of innocent, pure women – and virtually every other woman within reach. Director Lasse Hallstrom takes an ironic and firmly tongue-in-cheek approach as we find that Casanova has a sense of humour besides endless ways of dodging his debtors.
Beginning with the seducer as an old man penning his autobiography, we are told via narrative that the real story of how he fell in love has never been brought to light, that of Casanova's true love Francesca. True to form, he is escaping from a nun's boudoir and trying to outrun the Inquistion. The Doge (a wonderful turn by Tim McInnerny) rather likes the chap and so allows him his freedom on one condition: that he marries as soon as possible or have Venice closed to him forever. After a 'rare' Venetian virgin, Casanova finds one in Victoria (Natalie Dormer), until she turns out to be made of pure lust. Across the way, a widow (Lena Olin) and an advanced intellectual beauty called Francesca (Sienna Miller) watch the romance with interest. Turns out that Francesca's brother loves Victoria and, when challenging Casanova to a duel, Francesca steps in to save her brother with her advanced knowledge of swordplay.
Casanova, rather than being a moralistic film on the evils of promiscuity, turns into a tale of pursuit, mistaken identity and probably more laughs than it should have, thanks mostly to Oliver Platt's portrayal of a lard king who swans into town to marry Francesca herself. Extra witty dialogue supplied uncredited by Tom Stoppard, adds to the glee.
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Buena Vista Home Entertainment have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of Casanova for 19th June 2006.
Extras include:
- Audio Commentary - The chance for director Lasse Hallstrom to talk you through the film
- Creating An Adventure - Behind the scenes look at the Casanova set and interviews with cast and crew
- Dressing In Style - A closer look at the costumes and interview with the costume designer
- Extended Sequence - "Hidden in Plain Sight" - A look at an extended scene
- Visions of Venice - The sights and sounds of the beautiful setting of Venice
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