If you are doubting Heath Ledger's acting abilities, watch him in quick succession in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and CASANOVA. In his Oscar-nominated performance in BROKEBACK, Heath plays a man who is so hardened by life, who holds his emotions so close, that he can barely get words out of his mouth. He is honorable, wry in a Dick Cheney sort of way, responsible, and tragic -- but he ain't charming and smooth and adorable. Flash to director Lasse Hallstrom's telling of CASANOVA, where Heath plays the lead character as a....
...man of enormous charm, witty repartee, and sparkling good looks, and you can't believe it is the same actor. But, indeed, it is. Heath's performance in CASANOVA will come as no surprise to those of you charmed by his adorable, poverty-stricken jouster in A KNIGHT'S TALE. And CASANOVA shares some of that movie's romantic comedy structure: mistaken identities, arranged but doomed marriages, feisty Renaissance females, silly slapstick moments, and of course true love winning over all. The widowed Andrea (Lena Olin, who we love) can't wait for her daughter Francesca (a very Barbara Hershey-looking Sienna Miller, and hey, good riddance to Jude say I) to marry the portly Paprizzio (Oliver Platt), the pork king of Padua or some such thing, to help elevate them from the genteel shabbiness of their palazzo. Meanwhile, Francesca's shy and brainy brother pines for Victoria, the very virginal daughter of their neighbor across the canal (did I mention they live in Venice?) (Yes, Italy.) The Pope's new Venetian envoy (Jeremy Irons) is determined to have Casanova in chains because of his libertine affronts to decency (as only a prissy, nasty Bishop could define decency). The Doge of Venice saves Casanova's cute ass by getting him to promise to marry Victoria. Oops!! And all this time, Francesca is writing feminist philosophical treatises under a male pseudonym and has no intention of marrying the Pork King, and her mysterious ways have bewitched Casanova, whom she, it goes without saying, despises. As they say in script coverage, confusion and hilarity ensue.
This is not a perfect movie (sometimes the pacing seemed too slow - in my book, repartee should be witty and quick), but it is a perfect antidote to the winter blues or the day's dreary news. It will lift your spirits and make you dream a little dream of Venice.