Casanova

Russell T Davies and the enthusiastic cast has given this a real feeling of life and excitement using the exterior shots in Venice to their best advantage. David Tennant is brilliantly engaging, funny and attractive playing the 'lad about town' with such confidence and swagger and a touch of vulnerability that it's not difficult to understand why he attracted all his conquests. Casting O'Toole was inspired and at one point with both he and Tennant on screen I was struck by how well they seemed to 'match up' in a way that Ewan Magregor and Alec Guiness (for example) could not. Laura Fraser who I always thought was overlooked in "Knight's Tale" is perfect as the elusive Henriette. I'm looking forward to the rest

After watching bits of "Queer As Folk", a season of the new "Doctor Who", the "Doctor Who" Christmas special (also listening to the accompanying commentary) and the three parts of "Casanova", I think I've figured out what it is that frustrates me about Russell T. Davies's writing: its inconsistency. If it was merely mediocre, I'd simply dismiss it as such--but it's not.

His stories do have characters, scenes, and story arcs that are absolutely wonderful; his attention to detail can be minute; his dialogue can be scintillating in its irreverence and vivacity and his plot development can display astonishing originality. But these moments of brilliance are offset by under-developed secondary characters, unconvincing gaps in the plot, frankly ridiculous surprise twists, huge leaps of logic, jarringly crass jokes, lines intended merely to shock and unexplained dialogue non sequiturs. When I watch his work, I find my reactions alternating between, "Wow, this is great!" and "WTF?"

As for "Casanova" specifically: on balance, I love it. It's funny, engaging, exciting, romantic, sexy, and devastatingly sad at the end. It portrays a compellingly sympathetic Casanova and makes me curious about the real historic figure. While I personally already enjoy a lot of "costume dramas", I applaud this production's efforts to bring a younger and hipper audience to the genre. The acting is fine across the board and the leads (David Tennant and Peter O'Toole especially) are excellent. The innovative direction is effective. Since I knew beforehand not to expect historical accuracy, most of the anachronisms didn't bother me.

My chief complaint aside from the Russell T. Davies stuff mentioned above is probably with the music, the quality of which, like the writing, varied widely in my opinion. Some of it was fantastic, to be sure, but a significant amount was irritating and intrusive. And, call it a personal pet peeve if you will, but I really really dislike the sound of synthesized strings and brass. If it's a choice between what are obviously synthesizers and minimal or no instrumental accompaniment, I almost always prefer the latter.

I've read through all the previous comments and there is a puzzling divergence in the reactions to this work. There are significant numbers who seem to have expected this to be a documentary drama and have berated Davies for writing something at odds with the historical Casanova's life. This is missing the point entirely. It's like criticising Shakespeare in Love for being "inaccurate." This is a romp, with a hint of sadness, based upon Giacomo Casanova's memoir/autobiography. It is obviously intended as a diversion, every aspect of the production aiming at no more than the spirit of the thing, mixing today's argot and attitudes with those of C18 Venice.

Russell T Davies's work is of a very particular style, knowing and self-conscious (one critic here seemed to think this was inevitably a bad thing) and, above all, camp and celebratory. If you don't warm to his style then avoid his work is my advice. For those who can accept it for what it is and what it intends, it is glorious stuff.

I turned on PBS last night and ran into this movie completely by accident. I was hooked immediately. It is so funny and unusual. The fact that everything happens to the young Casanova by chance is one of the things that makes it good. He is goofy, low-born, and self-effacing, as opposed to Heath Ledger's smug, overly confident Casanova in the film recently in theaters (which I found very boring.) This CASANOVA is definitely worth my time and yours. The supporting characters are enjoyable and the sets and costumes are amazing, full of color and authenticity. It was a spectacle for the ears and the eyes, I especially liked the colorfest during Casanova and Bellino's ball. Enjoy!

This version of 'Casanova' is worlds apart from the one which ran on UK TV some twenty plus years ago. Now, in 2005, Russell T Davies (in demand at the moment as the key writer of the new Doctor Who) has developed a Casanova for our times, with modern phrases and references (there are National Lottery slogans; Casanova sings 'the wheels on the carriage' to his young son), while still devoting attention to the serious aspects of the story.

David Tennant plays the young Casanova, swaggering his way from the Italian peasantry to the faux-aristocracy of France, and to England. He is by turns irritating, sprightly, and sexy, a convincing character study of the most legendary seducer in history. His on-off relationship with the beautiful and mysterious Henriette (Laura Fraser) is central to the story, as she betrays and entices him into dangerous situations. His sexual romps are done very much in 'Carry On' style.

Peter O'Toole is the old Casanova ('an old librarian in a damp castle'), reduced to little more than a servant with his memories. As usual, he is magnificent in a complex role. Funny and charming, but with a painful past. The old Casanova makes you laugh and tugs at your heartstrings too. A - I hope - Bafta-worthy performance.

Other names to watch for in the cast include Nina Sosanya as Bellino, the castrato singer who steals our hero's heart in episode 1; Nickolas Grace as the French Chancellor; Matt Lucas as a perfumed Duke of Villars; Rupert Penry-Jones as the odious Grimani; and Shaun Parkes as Rocco, the observer on the sidelines of the young Casanova's life.

Inventively filmed (repetitions, odd angles, slow motion, extreme close-ups) and with a lively (if silly at times) script, this is an entertaining three hours.