Casanova (2005) short review

David Tennant stars as the famous lover Casanova in this BBC miniseries while Peter O’Toole plays his older self, Laura Fraser plays Casanova’s love interest Henriette, and Rose Byrne is the chambermaid to whom the O’Toole Casanova tells his life story.  Whew!  Although it’s a period film (set in 18th c. Venice, Paris, London and Naples), it’s very modernized, both in its script, shooting style, and particularly the costumes — which range from relatively period (altho they appear to have had a small budget — Henriette wears the same red gown for years) to completely not-based-in-reality goth-ified costumes (if you’re shocked when they arrive in Paris, just wait until they get to Naples!).

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About the author

Kendra

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Kendra has been a fixture in the online costuming world since the late 1990s. Her website, Démodé Couture, is one of the most well-known online resources for historical costumers. In the summer of 2014, she published a book on 18th-century wig and hair styling. Kendra is a librarian at a university, specializing in history and fashion. She’s also an academic, with several articles on fashion history published in research journals.