Casanova- ***1/2

Casanova is basically a Shakespearean play with modern language. There are women dressed like men, people pretending to be people they'’re not, a clown, and of course every one gets together in the end and love conquers all. But Lasse Hallstrom is a little confused on how to direct the movie. He directs it like a period drama, with lush colors and beautiful shots of Venice. But the film needs a defter comedic touch. It's a farce that sometimes forgets it's a farce, and the long shots of scenery, while nice to look at, sometimes weighs the film down.

I’ve never seen any of the films Hallstrom directed in his native Sweden, but his American movies tend to be predictable and filled with a sweet, gooey center. He has perfected the dramady formula, and with the exception of What'’s Eating Gilbert Grape, takes the easiest way out every time. If the audience should laugh, someone trips. If the audience should cry, then someone should die or the couple should have a fight. But Casanova is a departure from this formula, which is good and bad at the same time.

Heath Ledger plays the legendary lover, pursued by the Inquisition for his many acts of indecency. He also owes several debts, and is being threatened with expulsion from Venice unless he gets married. He chooses a pretty young virgin named Victoria (Natalie Dormer), which angers Giovanni Bruni (Charlie Cox), a young man in love with Victoria. His sister, Francesca (Sienna Miller) soon becomes the object of CasanovaÂ's affection, due to her strong will. But she is engaged, against her will, to Lord Paprizzio (Oliver Platt), a lard merchant from Genoa. Oh, and the inquisition has sent Instigator Pucci (Jeremy Irons) to put an end to Casanova once and for all. And…cue the wacky hyjinks!

The performances are good, particularly Jeremy Irons, who manages to be extremely menacing and rather foolish at the same time. Oliver Platt is also funny as the befuddled lard merchant, and Natalie Dormer is hilarious as the freakishly horny Victoria. Sadly, the two leads are rather bland, but it seems to be more fault of the script than the acting. It would've been nice to see a little more wit inserted into the dialogue. Miller is just the typical ahead-of-her-time, strong-willed woman, and Ledger the typical charming rogue who becomes bumbling when around the woman. Boy, I'’d like to see a movie that pits a man and a woman against each other without the man having to be a bumbling doof...

Hallstrom has never been very good at creating deep characters, but luckily Casanova doesnÂ't require them. ItÂ's a movie about events, and while many of the events do include couples almost not getting together, we don'’t need to believe it. The movie is shallow and frothy, so the characters can be frothy and it doesn'’t detract. Hallstrom does a good job of toning down his melodramatic tendancies, so the movie doesn't sag in the last third. But as much as the movie'’s been done before, it'’s still entertaining. The flaws are easily overlooked, and if you give into it, you won't stop to think about how silly it really is. And while it misses the mark on the farce aspect, it'’s still funny enough to be worth the time. It may be fluff, but it's entertaining fluff, and it has to be better than most other romatic comedies floating around out there.

--reviewed by Brandon