CASANOVA

The legendary lover’s romantic escapades come to a screeching halt when he falls in love in CASANOVA. Heath Ledger is Casanova, the desire of every woman’s heart and the disdain of the local government. After several run-ins with the law due to his passionate affairs, Casanova elects to settle down and marry. Determined he’ll never find true love, Casanova becomes engaged to the virgin Victoria. Just as Casanova becomes engaged, he falls for Francesca, after losing to her in a swordfight.

Director Lasse Halstrom’s light-hearted, romantic touch has eluded him for some time, but he creates a delightful little picture with quite a bit of help from Ledger. Ledger’s Casanova not only succeeds due to his physical and romantic charms, but in large part, because Ledger’s enjoyment radiates through his portrayal. This is quite a turnaround from the Aussie last performance. In BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, his Ennis is an emotionally repressed introvert beaten by his own intimacy issues. In CASANOVA, Ledger does a 180-degree acting turn, wearing the lover’s emotions on his sleeve, wowing women through verse, charisma and other obvious attributes. The supporting cast is also enjoyable, with Sienna Miller projecting a strong persona, Oliver Platt turning in a surprisingly lovable performance as Paprizzio and Jeremy Irons, as the staunchly salty Pucci. Halstrom still tends to draw out a few less than compelling sub-plots, but overall he keeps CASANOVA on track as a light and breezy romantic escape.

Grade: B-