Film Bites: Casanova

With his Oscar-nominated 1985 film "My Life as a Dog," Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom defined the template for the lovably quirky foreign film. Once he came to America, he perfected the heartwarming and completely unthreatening formula with "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "The Cider House Rules." The saccharine Juliette Binoche/Johnny Depp confection "Chocolat" earned him a place on our list of Top Ten World Films We Love to Hate.

Now Hallstrom, who doesn't pretend to be an international filmmaker any longer, is back with "Casanova," in which Heath Ledger drops his "Brokeback Mountain" mumble and returns to playing a straight lover. Along with Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt, and Lena Olin, Ledger slips into lavish period costumes and romps through digitally recreated Venice. No doubt, this was pitched as "Shakespeare in Love" with the Canale Grande instead of the Globe Theatre.

But "Casanova" is too artificial to capture anybody's heart or imagination. Every plot detail--the assumed names, confused gender roles, unwarranted duels, narrow escapes and happy misunderstandings--is a tired hand-me-down that feels as if it has been cynically applied after extended focus group testing. As the ultimate insult, the historical Giacomo Casanova's legendary sexual appetite is turned ratings-friendly and romance-ready by a final twist that leaves the adventurer defanged and domesticated. "My Life as a Horn Dog" this is isn't. 1 out of 5 stars. [posted by Jurgen]