Dangerous Beauty

 2/4

Starring: Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, Oliver Platt, Fred Ward, Naomi Watts, Jacqueline Bisset, Moira Kelly, Jeroen Krabbe, Joanna Cassidy, Jake Weber, Peter Eyre

Rated R for Some Scenes of Strong Sexuality, and for Nudity and Language

Of course courtesans were not prostitutes.  They were prized for far more than their bodies.  Using their wits as well as their sexuality, they earned their place in history with the powerful influence they gathered while moving in the circles of the rich, famous and connected.  Unfortunately, that's not the story that you'd find in "Dangerous Beauty," which favors romantic soap opera instead of the minds and skills of the women it seeks to celebrate.  I don't doubt for a moment that some, if not many, courtesans fell in love or sought such an occupation when no alternative was provided for them.  I just don't believe any of them played out like a low-rent Nicholas Sparks novel.

Veronica Franco (McCormack) is a young girl living in Venice.  She has fallen in love with the dashing Marco Venier (Sewell), and he for her.  Unfortunately, while Veronica is of some means, she lacks the wealth and influence necessary to become his wife.  Fortunately, her mother Paola (Bisset) offers her another opportunity.  By becoming a courtesan like she was, Veronica can attain independence, be respected for her mind, and won't be viewed of as a baby factory.  Veronica quickly becomes one of the most sought after women in Venice, but she longs to be with the one man she cannot have.  And while her mind and body have brought her wealth and fame, she is a woman and as such her survival is an open question.

Catherine McCormack is probably best known for playing Mel Gibson's love Murron in the classic "Braveheart."  She projects a sort of shy innocence that worked for that film.  Here, however, it doesn't.  McCormack is a gifted actress and she is gorgeous, but she lacks the raw sexuality to play a courtesan.  I just didn't believe that any man would swoon so heavily for her.  Imagine Angelina Jolie in this role and you can see what she is missing.  McCormack lacks the fire and passion for a such a woman.

Her co-star, Rufus Sewell, is much more successful.  Although not traditionally handsome, Sewell is one of England's most underrated actors (McCormack has a great description of him: "He's a grand kisser, and dead sexy).  He has the screen presence that she lacks, and therefore steals every scene that he is in.  Veronica is forgettable, but Marco is not.

The bigger problems is that the film focuses on their love affair, which is completely devoid of passion or any eroticism.  They generate no heat.  I did not buy the fact that these two were in love, and that alone sinks the movie.  It is far more interesting watching Veronica grow into a woman of considerable intelligence and influence.  Paola does give some insights on how to make herself attractive to men, but these are largely ignored.  We only see snippets of her skills, and even less of how she acquired them.  If you take the film at face value, she became an overnight star.  I'm not sure that's how things worked with these women.  So when she is tasked with convincing the French king (played by a slimy Jake Weber) to assist the Venetians in a war with the Ottoman Empire, it isn't especially credible.

The lack of chemistry causes the final act to fall dead in the water.  What should be harrowing and tragic is almost unintentionally funny the way it is presented here.  Little of what happens in the big courtroom scene (another connection to "Braveheart:" David Gant once again plays a judge) is possible to take seriously.  The purple writing doesn't help nor does the fact that Sewell is forced to go over the top, but it's so overwrought that it becomes unintentionally funny.

There is a good story to be found here, but it's not the one that Marshall Herskovitz (the longtime creative partner of Edward Zwick) chooses to explore.  Maybe that's just me being snobby.  I mean, which would you rather see a movie about: a courtesan working her way up to influence the king of France and be party to politics and war strategy, or that same courtesan's efforts to be with the man she loved as a young girl?

You tell me.

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