Bookraft

I confess to expectations of confectionary confabulations when Casanova's director was revealed to be Lasse Hallstrom of Chocolat and CiderHouse Rules reknown. I confess that I am wary and weary of Casanovian prurience. And so I confess that I was absolutely leery of another titillatingly lurid Hollywood peephole peek into lust dressed up as a period piece. And all this would be to the shame of Heath Ledger, Lena Olin, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Oliver Platt and an otherwise distinguished cast of players doomed to play out our pap and prurient interests.

Well shame on me. I should have known better. First no less than Mozart has taken the Don Juan character to operatic heights (and this movie follows and shows how that style works - particularly the wonderfully baroque musical score supplied by Alexandre Desplats ). In fact, what Lasse Hallstrom has done is no less than create a Shakespearean-style comedy in modern time, language (thank heavens) and baroque dress. No small feet.

To fill that Bill, Lasse has taken a number of Shakespearean themes and modus operandi and brewed them into a comic facade on serious ideas - Bill 1. Look at the setting: exotic Venice, 1750 Enlightment and War Torn Europe- Bill 2. Love and the Inquisition are on the loose. Women all over Venice seem to be lusting like Playboy(t) bunnies for an Italian stallion named Casanova who, as we meet him, happens to be on the run from a nun encounter - Bill 3. Exit and enter again Casanova (Heath Ledger) dashing into the life of Bernardo Guardi, nom de plume of our heroine, Francesca Bruni (Sienna Miller) who dresses up as a man to debate a University of Venice professor about the position of women and wins by unleashing a hot air balloon - Bill 4 & 5. Follow this in swift succession by a Doge as Deus ex machina for Casnova - Bill 6, Lupo as faithful servant - Bill 7, and then a star crossed lover's duel with Casanova and Francesca as disguised substitute combatants - Bill 8, 9, & 10 ... and this is less than one quarter of the way through the film. And fourthcoming, we have the exqusite Bill-inspired quadruple masked identity balancing act at Carnivale of Casanova as himself, Monsieur Paprizi, Bernardo Guardi and Salvatore Lupo. Ahhh - is life and love just a con man's act ?

Well this telling of the tale has all the mask confusion of people adjusting to what they really are - save for a deus ex machina appearance of a foreshadowed Mother come to rescue her son - Bill 0 and 25. The action is admirably active, amusing and dare I say entertaining ? The language is liquid and florid, the scenes filled with people at all levels pursuing their own ends at their level best. In sum I think even Bill would have not just a chuckle or two at the froth, romp and circumstance of this Casanovian bill. In short, its much better than my shameful expectations.