At one point in the BBC production of Casanova, the Italian ladies’ man jokes with his latest paramour that his surname translates as “lucky b*stard.” The real-life Giacomo Casanova claimed to have slept with 122 women and four men. Such a quick-witted life has sparked any number of dramatizations, including this three-part miniseries from the BBC (shown in the US courtesy of Masterpiece Theater) .
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The series opens with the elderly Casanova (Peter O’Toole), now librarian to a nobleman, writing his memoirs. An inquisitive serving girl, Edith (Rose Byrne) takes an interest in the traditional man, and he begins telling her about his adventures. The sage shifts support and forth between the show and the past; in brief vignettes, viewers peep young Giacomo’s childhood and adolescence, his education and sexual awakening. Finally, “Jack” reaches young adulthood; David Tennant takes over the lead, and the fun really begins.
The myth is sparkling mighty a dramatic fabrication, although some details are honest (e.g., Casanova’s intrepid prison sprint), and mighty of it comes off like an eighteenth century “Accumulate Me if You Can.” Casanova has no money or status or dwelling, so he gets by with a combination of intelligence, wit, trickery, and of course, sex appeal. Before long, he’s hobnobbing with the Venetian upper-crust and later traversing half of Europe, bedding one woman after another. But the genuine savor of his life is a enthralling young beauty named Henriettte, who naturally is engaged to Casanova’s arch-rival, Grimani. Powerful of Casanova’s schemes and exploits over the course of the film revolve around him trying to muster the resources to gather Henriette away from his enemy.
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The series is, for the most allotment, exceedingly well-done. Its cornerstone is a tight, focused script (by Russell T Davies), crackling with witty dialogue. The record spools out at a obedient roam, and most of the characters are reasonably well-developed. As one might question, there’s a lot of bawdy sexual humor, but none of it is overdone. Casanova’s fancy for Henriette gives the memoir a solid dramatic anchor and lends sympathy to a character who otherwise would seem like a shallow womanizer. The older Casanova’s narration provides both framework and perspective, and in a nice touch, his sage is unexcited unfolding in the indicate even as he recounts his past. The direction (by Sheree Folkson) is generally crisp and effective, though there are some distracting gimmicky effects, making safe utilize of visuals and character reactions.
The tone really helps to sell this production–it’s lighthearted, romantic, dramatic, and poignant in exactly the accurate spots, taking itself seriously enough without taking itself too seriously. It also helps that the characters all feel very rooted in the culture and values of their times, and the script doesn’t scared away from brutal realities, including untimely death, barbaric executions, the rigid social structures imposed by money and place, and the slight options available to women.
Visually, Casanova is a sumptuous treat, with enough status work to sustain it from feeling set-bound. The interiors are sparkling, and the costumes are fairly eye-popping, with nice shifts in color schemes as the record switches from one dwelling to the next. Despite the quality and the lavish attention to detail, however, the production quiet looks cheap by American standards–colorful and over-the-top, but untrue. Oddly, this amateur-theatrical quality is allotment of the series’ charm, and it even provides some self-deprecating humor (e.g., an intelligent galleon bobbing across an ancient way indicates a sea voyage) . The acquire is spotty: noble in some places, wincingly synth-pop in others.
The production’s other large strength is the performances of the cast. O’Toole hits all the honest notes as the older Casanova, looking wait on on his life with a mixture of nostalgia, pride, wound, and regret. Remarkably, the seventy-something actor conveys a trusty sense of sex appeal, and his chemistry with the distinguished younger Byrne is agreeable. But the film belongs to Tennant, who gets the bigger chunk of camouflage time and brings exactly the correct combination of cheeky confidence and lovelorn vulnerability to the younger Jack. The character’s over-the-top behavior would be harmful in lesser hands, but Tennant’s nicely controlled performance keeps the viewers’ sympathy with Casanova at all times. Tennant also does grand work “aging” the character over the course of twenty years, as time, exhaustion, and disappointment all grasp their toll. His laughable timing is wonderful–a couple of scenes are screamingly comic (Casanova goes to confession, literally giving the priest a coronary), and Tennant’s delivery of lines like, “I’m the Italian with the wh*re!” are spot-on perfect.
O’Toole and Tennant are supported by a substantial and mostly able extended cast. Particularly impressive is Shaun Parkes as Casanova’s sidekick/ manservant Rocco: the two part some hilarious banter and have enormous chemistry together. Also strong is Nina Sosanya as Casanova’s second major worship interest, a singer named Bellino: she’s a exact presence, despite relatively itsy-bitsy conceal time. Byrne does profitable work as the keen and compassionate Edith. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Rupert Penry-Jones as Casanova’s rival Grimani: the character starts off as a pompous, rich boor, but layers are revealed as the memoir unfolds, building up to an emotionally distinguished scene that Penry-Jones plays to aching perfection. Probably the weakest link in the cast is Laura Fraser as Henriette–she doesn’t hiss considerable depth to the appreciate of Casanova’s life, making it hard to swallow that he’d go to such lengths for her. Given the scores of women literally throwing themselves at him, Henriette really needed to be a compelling presence, and she’s not all that different from his other paramours. It doesn’t assist that Fraser’s repertoire consists of a single facial expression, which starts off charming but starts to grate very hastily. She’s not terrible–she has a wonderfully comic scene where Henriette and Jack communicate by ticket language across a crowded ballroom–but in such an outstanding cast, she gets lost.
Overall, Casanova is a fun, gleaming romp, with considerable to recommend it. It’s to the series’ credit that the nearly three-hour running time goes by very rapid. I strongly recommend the DVD release over the edited version PBS is showing. Yes, the sex is fairly raunchy and leaves runt to the imagination, but it also provides noteworthy of the story’s humor, and one crucial exchange between Grimani and Casanova feels, well, neutered with so many dirty words crop out. The production has its campy moments, and some may net it too over-the-top, but underneath the trappings is a fairly classic esteem memoir with a lot of heart.
Casanova is one of the funniest offerings on Masterpiece Theater in years. A dramatization of the life of the famous rogue Giacomo Casanova, it is area in Europe during the eighteenth century at the height of the Enlightenment. Casanova was a nobody who traditional his obliging looks, charm, and intellect (all three of which were powerful) to get fortunes, lose fortunes, circulate in the highest social circles, sink to the lowest prison, and have a ample time doing it. At the same time he seems to have had a gracious sense of compassion and a kind heart which endeared him to many.
I have no concept how accurately this film renders Casanova’s precise life. I do know that the script is witty and the actors colorful (I particularly enjoyed Casanova’s many asides) . I also loved the disagreement between Casanova’s riotous early years and his dismal retirement as a librarian, telling his fable to a young woman who is appalled by his excesses, attracted by his charm, and finally becomes his last friend and ally. I enjoyed the disconnect between Casanova’s constant womanizing and his unfulfilled admire for Bellino and especially Henriette, who becomes a sort of guardian angel, pulling him out of some of his worst predicaments without his having a clue. I also enjoyed the “unique” music scores and dancing, which enhance rather than distract from the narrative, especially the “ball” at the French court, which is hysterical!
If you are only familiar with this production as it was shown on Masterpiece Theater, be forewarned that this is the unique uncut British offering, with plenty of sexual acrobatics (and some killingly comical scenes poking fun at England and the English! I can’t imagine why the Masterpiece Theater people slice those parts out!)
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