La courtisane

For me the power of this movie rests in its faithfulness to Margaret Rosenthal's book the Honest Courtesan; which is a well-researched look at Veronica Franco's life and the plight of Venetian women in the 16th century. Dangerous Beauty, while making certain assumptions and taking some literary license, was a talented translation of Rosenthal's careful research into a captivating film. Many of the witty remarks and social commentary come directly from 16th century documents. Surprisingly the most unbelievable aspect of the movie (her escape from the Inquisition and support from prominent Venetian nobles) is historical fact. While the details are unknown and the movie is certainly more romatically dramatic than I would imagine the actual historical event, it was very true to the spirit and feel supported by the evidence we have.

Venetian women, and indeed most medieval women, were in an unenviable position as second class citizens. Veronica Franco's struggle to find an acceptable position in society as a woman of good family but poor, is representative of the moral and societal conflicts of her time. Courtesans were not respected but they were accepted as a necessary evil. Their income was even taxable! In a society where female chastity was considered sacrosanct if she were to marry and a marriage bed was no less for sale than a courtesan's, women's choices were limited indeed. Franco's impassioned cry in the movie "I did what was necessary to survive!" is no less true were it not a verbatim report of her defense. As a penniless girl her options were limited to scullery work, the nunnery or prostitution. Her distinction was that, while she chose to sell her body, she never chose to be dominated by her profession or those who sought her out. In publishing her book of poetry and personal letters, she redefined herself as a woman first and a courtesan second. Using her wit to defend herself in the public arena she skillfully manipulated accepted literary mores of the day to show her mastery of the literary as well as political implications of her position.

Her greatest detractors were courtiers, such as Maffio Venier, who competed with courtesans for the money bestowed by wealthy patrons. As she says in the movie, they must both sing for their suppers. The problem is that while she is willing to accept they are equal in their need of patronage, he is unwilling to be outdone by a woman. His misogynistic works of poetry were directed toward Franco and other courtesans with the intent of parading his own virtue by damning theirs. The greatest irony is that Maffio was ultimately killed by a sexual disease while Franco died of causes unrelated to her sexual practices.

While there are those who might see this movie as an acceptance of prostitution, I believe they are missing the true story behind the sexual facade which they are focusing on. Franco's life was one of courage and honesty. She made choices that we may not understand, but we do not live in her world. And she accepted both the privilege and the degradation that her position brought her. This movie is a powerful tribute to one who sought more in life than mere existence and who faced her trials with the courage of her convictions, whether or not we or others share those convictions is immaterial.

I saw this when it first came out and I just saw it again on video. Superb movie. I adore Venice and feel I got a real taste of what it must have been like in the 16th century. Great photography and costumes. Beautiful actors. Comedy. Romance. Based on a true story. Shows some of the ugliness of the zealot church of the time. A must see and one of the year's best. Where were the critics on this one? Played to empty theaters mostly. What a shame.

Yes, an entertaining film, yes beautiful on a cinematic aspect, but all in all, a silly period piece, and considering the subject matter, it would have done better if held with more sensitivity than sentimentality.

It's not a smart period piece, let's start with that. The 'jovial' verbal sparring that goes on between Veronica and Platt's character is trite, and with clumsy innuendos. The sexual fascinations the men of Venice have with Veronica comes off as somewhat artificial, and Veronica herself, doesn't seem like such a dangerous beauty. The emphasis for power and intelligence in courtesans is quite clear in the film, but apart from showing her reading a couple of books, this doesn't come across. The exchange between Veronica and King Henry was set up to be challenging, and interesting, and then too easily resolved. The conclusion between Marco and Veronica's characters ripped right out of a Harlequin romance, and not given any sort of punch to make it favorable. I was hoping that Veronica would truly be strong, and assert herself as a powerful woman, but her weaknesses and what she gave into demeans this. And Paola, her mother, was quite shocking and somewhat incredulous. The film tries to explain her motives for pushing Veronica to become a courtesan, but the training session sequence still leaves an uneasy feeling about her.

I sound quite unforgiving towards the film, so here I admit there were some good moments. Veronica explaining the not so glamorous part of a courtesan's life. The court scene (though the conclusion was still a mite too easy) held some power the rest of the film should have. Veronica's interactions with Domenic. And the Minister Rimbarti was a very sympathetic character and he stood out in the scenes he was in.

So all in all, it's okay to watch, but if you're expecting something that actually has meaning look somewhere else.

A very under rated movie... The visuals are amazing, and really opens up your eyes to a piece of history that is generally ignored. Veronica Franco was a real person, and Catherine McCormack does her justice.

The movie is not the speediest, but the learning process, and the development of the situation is excellent. The music is also very good, I believe by George Fenton, and suits and supports the music and is worth the listen all on its own.

Even my husband loves to watch this movie with me, and its one of our well beloved date movies, sensual, moving, yet ultimately triumphant. In an odd sort of way, I got an almost female version of Braveheart in the courtroom scene at the end... Try it! It's worth it!

This particular movie was lost in the shuffle somewhere but I am certainly glad I found it. Catherine McCormack (Braveheart) portrays an innocent girl, that loses in love so decides to do what she has to do just to have him any way possible. It's a very backwards Cinderella. A good girl that falls in love with a "prince" (he's from a family with a title and she's not) but will true love prevail? Rufus Sewell is to die for, the sexiest and most talented actor to come our way in years. The rest of the fine cast Oliver Platt, Moira Kelly, Naomi Watts, Fred Ward and Jacqueline Bisset are very convincing in their portrayals of these period characters. I have had every single one of my friends watch it and they all have enjoyed it as much as I have. The music is fantastic and we even get a short history lesson. With this sensational cast, the storyline that is based on actual poetry books from a Courtisan, it really is my favorite historical romance of all time. Take the time to find this rare gem and see it as soon as possible.