Casanova: Critic Reviews

The great discovery of this Casanova is Hallstrom's recovered capacity for play.

Lasse Hallstrom's tale of an uncomplicated lover is a delightful respite from awards-season seriousness.

Randy flirtations and elaborate masquerades to evade the sanctimonious powers-that-be are the cornerstone of this exuberant film.

The movie Casanova, starring Heath Ledger, not only fetters the randy Venetian in political correctness, it condemns him to dwell inside the modern equivalent of a bad Shakespeare play.

The movie treats trysting as comedy and yet is stingy with the laughs. An action-packed life is now the chaste story of a rake whose romantic reformation is supposed to make us swoon. Must love dog? No thanks.

The clumsy staging might not grate so much if the tone weren't so self-congratulatory.

A period romp that tries too hard.

Despite its oh-so deviant title character, Casanova is a harmless bon-bon, a breezy period farce that mimics lesser Shakespeare and a look that recalls Amadeus or Shakespeare in Love.

Casanova relies heavily on charm, and it's not a case of misplaced confidence. The legendary rogue's saga, at least in this fresh incarnation, is indeed a charmer.

There's less sexiness in the awful Casanova than in the downbeat, doomed gay love story featuring Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.

I admit that the picture is handsomely designed in gold and pale blue, but none of the tumult and pomp have any dramatic, comic, or erotic effect whatsoever.

Casanova was such a genuinely fascinating person, so tireless, seductive, brilliant, revolutionary and daring, that Hallstrom's Casanova hardly does him justice.

Hallstrom gives us a genial interpretation and a supremely good-humored film.

One would expect Casanova, a movie about the storied loverboy of 18th-century Venice, to be wicked, ribald fun. One would be wrong.

The movie sidesteps modern-day issues of political correctness raised by a story about a rogue who shamelessly uses women for his own amusement. This is all done for our amusement.

A ribald, witty costume comedy filled with delightful performances and wily plot turns, this is the sort of film that makes you wonder why more films like this aren't made.

Casanova is just plain ordinary.

Overall, Casanova is silly but amusing.

A handsome chunk of widescreen entertainment that's as nimble as its rakish hero.

Don't confuse the 18th-century Venetian setting in Casanova with sophistication.

The sticky sweet stuff in the middle traps history's greatest lover and slows the whole affair to a crawl.

The movie contains so little sexual content, it seems pre-edited for viewing on airplanes, or perhaps balloon rides like the fake one taken high above Venice by stars Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller.

A forgettable movie but a memorable celluloid poster for Venice.

Casanova works because it gives in to its nuttier impulses instead of fighting them. It's an absurdly joyous bit of fluff.