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Casanova

Thankfully, I didn’t like this one better when it was called Dangerous Beauty. Lasse Hallstrom, (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules) here, brings forth the better of his two movies in 2005, the other being An Unfinished Life. Heath Ledger, having a banner year with Brokeback Mountain alone, brings a snide sincerity to his role as the lothario Casanova.

While the film, in parts, is ridiculously stupid, it does have enough emphasis in all the right places to make it worthwhile. Those things are mainly the supporting cast, like Lena Olin, Oliver Platt and the recent scenery-chewing champion, Jeremy Irons. Much like his performance in The Ice Harvest, Platt comes on like a wrecking ball and clears the majority of the screenplay’s foolish detritus by making a fool of himself. His selfless nature as an actor should be rewarded more often than it is.

Sienna Miller, taking time off from being Jude Law’s emotional punching bag, seemingly takes some time off from being gorgeous as well. There is something amiss in both her performance and her usually beautiful face. I can’t put a finger on it, but it took me by surprise to find she was actually the same girl who wowed me in Alfie.

All of these things bring an annoying mishmash of good and bad that essentially cancel one another out, but still might leave the viewer wanting more. More story, a better screenplay and something more of a payoff. Hallstrom is better than we’ve been seeing from him in recent memory, so let’s hope he gets his films back on track.

The disc is rather jam packed with extras. Two featurettes, which are quite interesting; one offering a look at the making of the movie, while the other focuses on the production (i.e. costumes and the like). Through in a unnecessary, but appreciated DTS track and you’ve got yourself a DVD to throw in with a loved one and not watch.

Written by: Kevin Yeoman

Reviewers Rating: 6.5
Reader's Rating: 2.33
Reader's Votes: 3

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