From Giovanni Giacomo Casanova’s 12-volume memoir, we know that the great
lover was also a gambler, philosopher, escape artist, soldier, gardener,
and prisoner. At various times during his life he worked as a spy,
government official, and novelist; was an aide to Russia’s Catherine
the Great; fought in more than a few duels, worked for the Inquisition;
and, finally, served as a librarian for a Bohemian count. Oh, and along the
way he indulged his appetite for sex with, basically, anything that moved. Director Lasse Hallström isn’t interested
in any of these details in his new romantic romp Casanova, a frothy concoction that
plays more like a screwball comedy in period dress than a biopic of
history’s most famous lover. And that’s fine, for
Hallström’s intention is not to examine the life of this
libertine but to add to his legend, which is already in full bloom as the
film opens in Venice, circa 1753, and we see the libidinous lover, played
slyly by Heath Ledger, fleeing a convent where he’s frolicked with who knows how many nuns. This
is of great concern to the local members of the Italian Inquisition, but
Casanova is able to escape their clutches time and again as he’s
protected by the local bishop, who urges him to get married to show that he
has become a respectable citizen. It’s either marriage or exile from
Venice, so the search begins for a wife, and Casanova settles on Victoria
(Natalie Dormer), a virginal hellcat who simply can’t wait for their
wedding night. Unfortunately, many delays will occur before that can
happen; Francesca Bruni (Sienna Miller), an independent woman with social
reform on her mind, catches Casanova’s eye and wins his heart. How
will he break his engagement to Victoria and win his new love’s
heart? More important, how will Casanova avoid Pucci (Jeremy Irons), the
inquisitor dispatched from the Vatican to stretch Casanova’s neck and
send a message to the hedonistic citizens of Venice? These are only two of the problems in the dense
screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher and Kimberly Simi, which also features almost
as many cases of mistaken identity as a dog has ticks and two other
subplots, one involving an arranged marriage between lard merchant Lord
Papprizzio (Oliver Platt) and Francesca, the other concerning the attempts
of her brother Giovanni (Charlie Cox) to woo Victoria. The film’s intention to deliver a grand
statement about love comes off as yesterday’s news, but the film
excels at providing witty entertainment. Hallström and his players
maintain a light-hearted tone and high energy throughout while never taking
themselves or the material too seriously. Casanova embellishes the reputation of the great lover with a
comedic flourish that, one assumes, the film’s subject would have
embraced.
This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2006.
