Casanova (Masterpiece Theater)

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 colorful life has sparked any number of dramatizations, including this three-part miniseries from the BBC (shown in the US courtesy of Masterpiece Theater).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 old man, and he begins telling her about his adventures. The narrative shifts back and forth between the present and the past; in brief vignettes, viewers see 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 story is pretty much a dramatic fabrication, although some details are accurate (e.g., Casanova's daring prison escape), and much of it comes off like an eighteenth century "Catch Me if You Can." Casanova has no money or position or status, 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 real love of his life is a spirited young beauty named Henriettte, who naturally is engaged to Casanova's arch-rival, Grimani. Much of Casanova's schemes and exploits over the course of the film revolve around him trying to muster the resources to win Henriette away from his enemy.The series is, for the most part, exceedingly well-done. Its cornerstone is a tight, focused script (by Russell T Davies), crackling with witty dialogue. The story spools out at a good pace, and most of the characters are reasonably well-developed. As one might expect, there's a lot of bawdy sexual humor, but none of it is overdone. Casanova's love for Henriette gives the story 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 story is still unfolding in the present even as he recounts his past. The direction (by Sheree Folkson) is generally crisp and effective, though there are some distracting gimmicky effects, making good use of visuals and character reactions.The tone really helps to sell this production--it's lighthearted, romantic, dramatic, and poignant in exactly the right 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 shy away from brutal realities, including untimely death, barbaric executions, the rigid social structures imposed by money and status, and the limited options available to women.Visually, Casanova is a sumptuous treat, with enough location work to keep it from feeling set-bound. The interiors are gorgeous, and the costumes are fairly eye-popping, with nice shifts in color schemes as the narrative switches from one location to the next. Despite the quality and the lavish attention to detail, however, the production still looks cheap by American standards--colorful and over-the-top, but fake. Oddly, this amateur-theatrical quality is part of the series' charm, and it even provides some self-deprecating humor (e.g., an animated galleon bobbing across an old-fashioned map indicates a sea voyage). The score is spotty: good in some places, wincingly synth-pop in others.The production's other great strength is the performances of the cast. O'Toole hits all the right notes as the older Casanova, looking back on his life with a mixture of nostalgia, pride, pain, and regret. Remarkably, the seventy-something actor conveys a real sense of sex appeal, and his chemistry with the much younger Byrne is excellent. But the film belongs to Tennant, who gets the bigger chunk of screen time and brings exactly the right combination of cheeky confidence and lovelorn vulnerability to the younger Jack. The character's over-the-top behavior would be obnoxious in lesser hands, but Tennant's nicely controlled performance keeps the viewers' sympathy with Casanova at all times. Tennant also does excellent work "aging" the character over the course of twenty years, as time, exhaustion, and disappointment all take their toll. His comic timing is wonderful--a couple of scenes are screamingly funny (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 large and mostly able extended cast. Particularly impressive is Shaun Parkes as Casanova's sidekick/ manservant Rocco: the two share some hilarious banter and have great chemistry together. Also strong is Nina Sosanya as Casanova's second major love interest, a singer named Bellino: she's a real presence, despite relatively limited screen time. Byrne does excellent work as the curious 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 story unfolds, building up to an emotionally powerful scene that Penry-Jones plays to aching perfection. Probably the weakest link in the cast is Laura Fraser as Henriette--she doesn't impart much depth to the love 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 help that Fraser's repertoire consists of a single facial expression, which starts off charming but starts to grate very quickly. She's not terrible--she has a wonderfully funny scene where Henriette and Jack communicate by sign language across a crowded ballroom--but in such an outstanding cast, she gets lost.Overall, Casanova is a fun, colorful romp, with much to recommend it. It's to the series' credit that the nearly three-hour running time goes by very quickly. I strongly recommend the DVD release over the edited version PBS is showing. Yes, the sex is fairly raunchy and leaves little to the imagination, but it also provides much of the story's humor, and one crucial exchange between Grimani and Casanova feels, well, neutered with so many dirty words cut out. The production has its campy moments, and some may find it too over-the-top, but underneath the trappings is a fairly classic love story with a lot of heart.

Casanova is one of the funniest offerings on Masterpiece Theater in years. A dramatization of the life of the celebrated rogue Giacomo Casanova, it is set in Europe during the eighteenth century at the height of the Enlightenment. Casanova was a nobody who used his good looks, charm, and intellect (all three of which were considerable) to make fortunes, lose fortunes, circulate in the highest social circles, sink to the lowest prison, and have a great time doing it. At the same time he seems to have had a genuine sense of compassion and a kind heart which endeared him to many.I have no idea how accurately this film renders Casanova's actual life. I do know that the script is witty and the actors brilliant (I particularly enjoyed Casanova's many asides). I also loved the contrast between Casanova's riotous early years and his sad retirement as a librarian, telling his story 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 love 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 "modern" music scores and dancing, which enhance rather than distract from the story, 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 original uncut British offering, with plenty of sexual acrobatics (and some killingly funny scenes poking fun at England and the English! I can't imagine why the Masterpiece Theater people cut those parts out!)

David Tennant is fantastic as always, and I can totally see him being Peter O'Toole as an old man. He is sexy, hilarious, engaging and poignant. I watched the whole thing (3 hours) and turned right around and watched it again, as well as going back to some favorite scenes a few more times (that KISS -- you'll know when you see it). The blue eyes are a bit distracting, it's true, but he even manages to make that work.There are a few parts (particularly the start of the second half) where the movie takes a turn toward odd humor and seems to be a different production entirely, but it is British, after all. The least of the cast is Henriette, who is simply not believable as such an overwhelming presence in Casanova's heart; she is not up to par with the rest of the stellar cast.It was a good thing I read the other review that mentioned the odd way the DVD runs -- when the credits roll at 1:25, you have to hit the skip button to start the second half. It looks like it's over, but it's only the first half.This movie is absolutely necessary for fans of David Tennant -- stare into those soulful (blue, now) eyes, smile along with that quirky, self-deprecating grin, feel the pain in his (single, this time) heart, and fall in love all over again.

David Tennant was perfect in Doctor Who.But before Doctor Who, he was Casanova. And boy was it a treat to watch. I quite enjoy watching it. It's quickly becoming one of my favourite movies.Essentially, this is about Casanova's life, as told by the elderly/nearly dying Casanova to young kitchen hand. He retells his life from his wordless childhood (until he had his first sexual encounter) and from there how he wooed, cheated, lied and faked his way up through the high ranking societies pleasing every female he could find. Eventually he falls in love with a young lady who happens to be dating a really important guy, who is insanely jealous of Casanova's relationship with her and has him arrested. Casanova of course escapes, and resumes his love making, lying and deception during his escape while looks to be exonerated. Shenanigans happen, he discovers an old flame is now an opium addict. He continues to search for his one true love. The young handmaid who is listening to this story attempts to find his love. I wont say any more than that. Just go watch it. I watched it online first, and then bought it because it was so good. Just do it.

若き日のCasanovaを演じるDavid・Tennantのファンなので大変気に入りました。

This is David Tennant's breakout role, the one that set him up for international recognition as the Doctor later on. He plays the young Casanova (the great Peter O'Toole plays the aged yet still charming Casanova), winning the hearts of the ladies and the ire of the gentlemen first of Italy, then of Europe at large. But at the heart of it all is one woman--the one woman Casanova loves with all his heart, yet the one he cannot have.The role allows Tennant to demonstrate his impressive range. Had I seen this before I saw his debut as the Doctor, I would have been in no doubt about his ability to portray a 900-year-old alien. (I am here admitting to a little bit of doubt, because all I knew Tennant from at the time was his turn as Barty Crouch, jr. in the <i>Harry Potter</i> movies.) He is by turns cocky, charming, heartbroken, heartbreaking. In short, he's pretty much how you'd expect Casanova to be.

This was a movie series I had no difficulty getting into! I loved David Tennant in the role of a young Casanova as he just brought it to life. I have watched this a few times and loved it each time. It did inspire me to read up on the real Casanova and they did take some literary license with his story but it intrigued me all the same. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a fun story but it's not for little children.

Good movie, I did enjoy it and would probably watch it again. David Tennant was amazing as always, but I have to say it was a little strange watching him in such a drastically different role from Doctor Who! But he's so brilliant that I got over it pretty quickly. A great watch for any Tennant fan!