Genres:
Comedy Drama
Romance
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Flags: Adult Situations, Adult Language, Adult Humor, Sexual Situations
History's most renowned ladies' man finally meets his match in this
historical romance laced with
comedy and
adventure. In Venice in 1753,
Giacomo Casanova (
Heath Ledger) is a notorious playboy whose way with women goes too far when he's caught leaving the bedroom of a novice nun, and one of the leading prosecutors of the Inquisition,
Pucci (
Jeremy Irons), puts him on trial.
The Doge (
Tim McInnerny), Venice's political point man, is a friend of
Casanova's and pulls strings to get him off the hook and allow him to stay in the city, but under one condition -- he must take a wife and remain faithful to her.
Casanova sets his sights on
Victoria (
Natalie Dormer), a lovely young maiden who is obviously taken with the handsome ladykiller, but he's not the only one who wants her hand.
Giovanni Bruni (
Charlie Cox) is a young man who is very much in love with
Victoria, and in order to move him out of the picture,
Casanova challenges him to a duel. However, when
Casanova is bested in swords in the challenge, he discovers he's actually been parrying with
Giovanni's sister,
Francesca (
Sienna Miller). As
Casanova gets to know
Francesca, he discovers she's a gifted writer and a bright and independent woman as well as a good hand with a sword, and he comes to the realization that she's the woman he wants to take to the altar. However,
Francesca has already been promised to the vain and chubby
Papprizzio (
Oliver Platt), a man she's never met, and she doesn't seem at all interested in the notorious
Casanova.
Casanova also stars
Lena Olin, and
Omid Djalili. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide