Casanova

7 January 2019

Casanova 2005

• Director: Lasse Hallström
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt, Lena Olin, Helen McCrory, Charlie Cox, Tim McInnerny, Phil Davis
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Heath Ledger – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Dark Knight, I’m Not There, Brokeback Mountain, The Brothers Grimm, Ned Kelly, Monster’s Ball, A Knight’s Tale, 10 Things I Hate about You
• Sienna Miller – Stardust, Factory Girl, Alfie
• Jeremy Irons - Beautiful Creatures, Their Finest, The Hollow Crown, Kingdom of Heaven, Being Julia, The Merchant of Venice, Longitude, The House of Spirits, Waterland, Kafka, Reversal of Fortune, Brideshead Revisited, The French Lieutenant’s Woman
• Oliver Platt – Ginger and Rosa, Frost/Nixon, Bulworth, Benny and Joon, Postcards from the Edge, Working Girl, Married to the Mob
• Lena Olin – The Reader, The United States of Leland, Chocolat, The Ninth Gate, Romeo Is Bleeding, Picassos Äventyr, Ansikte mot ansikte
• Helen McCrory - Skyfall, Hugo, Their Finest, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Flashbacks, Becoming Jane Austen, The Queen, Hotel Splendide
• Charlie Cox – The Theory of Everything, Stone of Destiny, Stardust, The Merchant of Venice
• Tim McInnerny – Sherlock, Hustle, Doctor Who, Black Adder, Notting Hill, Richard III
• Phil Davis – Poldark, Merlin, Case Histories, Brighton Rock, Sherlock, Another Year, Doctor Who, Notes on a Scandal, Bleak House, Rose and Maloney, Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, Vera Drake, Secrets and Lies, In the Name of the Father, Alien 3
• Why? Heath Ledger, Lasse Hallström, good reviews
• Seen: 4 January 2019      

       Tales of seduction are usually boring if not offensive. Casanova has never been of interest to me. This is supposed to be funny though, and Hallström can be good, as can Ledger.

       Venice is beautiful of course but oddly I’ve never longed to go there so all the lovely photography here isn’t enough to get me excited. The small rebellion of the heroine (Miller) is not terribly impressive. She demands not so much intellectual independence – though she speaks prettily enough about it and writes secret pamphlets under a man’s name – as the freedom to love and marry for love. Ho hum.

       The blurb on the DVD box compares it to Shakespeare in Love. Not even close. Not on the same planet.

       Hallström, Ledger and the whole gang have done so much better. This is at best mildly amusing. Mostly silly. A little twist at the end helps.

2 ½ * of 5 (Hal gave it 3 ½ *)