Common Sense Note
Parents should know that the film is focused on the legendary 18th-century lothario, here revised to suit a secret identity plot and his romance with a proto-feminist writer. The film includes some raunchy sexual material, plus jokes about bodily functions (as well as verbal and visual jokes about one character's obesity). References are made to sexual pleasures, "whores," brothels, virgins, "fornication," as well as "coming" and "instrument" (as double entendres). Characters appear in various states of undress, women wear cleavage-revealing dresses. Characters drink at parties; one smokes cigarettes.
Families might discuss the representation of marriage, as a means to solidify one's social status, clear one's name, cover up for sexual activity, and gain money. Francesca's argument for women's rights and against men's objectification of women is simplistic but also provides grist for conversation: how can she make her point clear in a film where she's the primary romantic object?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Gaudy and giddy, this CASANOVA is full of energy but also strangely limp. Here the legendary lover is caught up in a swirl of Venetian activities, from pig wrangling and dueling to hot air ballooning and torturing (supposedly comedic, though associated with the Inquisition), but he's actually quite the nice fellow.
As the wealthy and titled Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (Heath Ledger) tells his own story, that he's not only a sexual expert, but also most intelligent and politically savvy. During the first moments of Lasse Hallström's film, Casanova boasts he's seduced legions of women and means to write them up in the "pages of my life."
The story in these pages he tells here has to do with Francesca (Sienna Miller), whom he first spots in an academy, lecturing to the usual male audience. She's disguised as a man, of course, for women cannot attend school, let alone lecture, being defined as "distractions" for men who have serious business to conduct. Her topic: the state of heterosexual relations in the modern world, that is, the 18th century. When her listeners insist they will never stand for a woman among them, she whips off her wig and beard, noting, "Too late, gentlemen!" Ah, heresy. Although Casanova is soon trying to escape from Inquisition guards who have been sent by his arch-enemy Pucci (Jeremy Irons), he appreciates Francesca's feisty performance, and determines to pursue her.
The film's various marriage and mistaken identity plots recall Shakespearean themes. To evade arrest, Casanova agrees to marry the virgin Victoria (Natalie Dormer), while Francesca is promised to the pork lard baron Papprizzio (Oliver Platt) by her impoverished mother Andrea Bruni (the fantastic Lena Olin). Though Francesca despises everything she knows about Casanova, she is taken by him when he pretends to be Papprizzio. As he endeavors to keep her separate from the real Papprizzio, Casanova is also trying to keep himself out of sight from Pucci, while charming both Victoria and Andrea in order to give himself enough room to seduce Francesca. It's a juggling act and then some, but for all the flouncing and running about, it's very slow going.
Families who enjoy this movie might also like Dangerous Liaisons (1988), another tale of 18th-century seductions; A Knight's Tale, Heath Ledger's entertaining medieval fantasy; or Johnny Depp's "great lover" movie, Don Juan DeMarco.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentMuch discussion of sexual activity, some kissing and revealing clothing, partial undress. |
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ViolenceA duel, some rambunctious action. |
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LanguageMinor (several uses of "damn" and "hell"). |
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Social BehaviorSexual excess is a theme, though lovers learn to commit to single partners and respect one another. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSome drinking at parties, brief smoking by one character. |
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