Susan Granger’s review of “Casanova” (Touchstone Pictures)
Will Heath Ledger’s amorous interludes never end? First the dark, dramatic tragedy of “Brokeback Mountain,” now a romantic sex comedy about the world’s most legendary lover.
Giacomo Casanova (Ledger) was a fabled 18th century libertine. As legend has it, Venetian women could not resist his lusty charms. But when he was caught with a nun, the Inquisition’s chief prosecutor (Jeremy Irons) accused him of debauchery. Only his patron, the Doge (Tim McInnerny), could save his life, offering him the alternative of marrying or leaving the city for good. So with the aid of his loyal manservant Lupo (Omid Djalili), Casanova pledged himself to the virginal Victoria (Natalie Dormer), who’s adored from afar by shy Giovanni Bruni (Charlie Cox) who lived across the canal with his widowed mother (Lena Olin) and feisty sister Francesca (Sienna Miller), who’s set to marry Paprizzio (Oliver Platt), a lard merchant from Genoa. Then a merry farce unexpectedly erupts, filled with clever disguises and mistaken identity.
Filming entirely in Venice, director Lasse Hallstrom (“Shipping News,” “Chocolat”) and writers Jeffrey Hatcher, Kimberly Simi and Michael Cristofer have concocted a raucously ribald yet lushy romantic romp, like combining Franco Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shew” with Richard Lester’s “The Three Musketeers.” While Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller occupy center stage in their masks and costumes, it’s foolishly bumbling Oliver Platt and drolly cool Jeremy Irons who are most memorable in supporting roles, along withOliver Stapleton’s photography. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Casanova” woos with a light-hearted, endearing 8 – aimed at the same audience who enjoyed the wicked wit of “Shakespeare In Love.”
Susan Granger's review of "Casanova" (Touchstone Pictures)
Will Heath Ledger's amorous interludes never end? First the dark, dramatic tragedy of "Brokeback Mountain," now a romantic sex comedy about the world's most legendary lover.
Giacomo Casanova (Ledger) was a fabled 18th century libertine. As legend has it, Venetian women could not resist his lusty charms. But when he was caught with a nun, the Inquisition's chief prosecutor (Jeremy Irons) accused him of debauchery. Only his patron, the Doge (Tim McInnerny), could save his life, offering him the alternative of marrying or leaving the city for good. So with the aid of his loyal manservant Lupo (Omid Djalili), Casanova pledged himself to the virginal Victoria (Natalie Dormer), who's adored from afar by shy Giovanni Bruni (Charlie Cox) who lived across the canal with his widowed mother (Lena Olin) and feisty sister Francesca (Sienna Miller), who's set to marry Paprizzio (Oliver Platt), a lard merchant from Genoa. Then a merry farce unexpectedly erupts, filled with clever disguises and mistaken identity.
Filming entirely in Venice, director Lasse Hallstrom ("Shipping News," "Chocolat") and writers Jeffrey Hatcher, Kimberly Simi and Michael Cristofer have concocted a raucously ribald yet lushy romantic romp, like combining Franco Zeffirelli's "The Taming of the Shew" with Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers." While Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller occupy center stage in their masks and costumes, it's foolishly bumbling Oliver Platt and drolly cool Jeremy Irons who are most memorable in supporting roles, along withOliver Stapleton's photography. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Casanova" woos with a light-hearted, endearing 8 - aimed at the same audience who enjoyed the wicked wit of "Shakespeare In Love."