Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

I read the book long before I saw the film -- the book is called The Honest Courtesan, and for some bizarre reason, the producers figured that audiences wouldn't know what a courtesan was.

Yes, there really was a Veronica Franco in 16th century Venice. Did this really happen?

Well, no, not quite...

The real Veronica was a courtesan, did write poetry, managed to survive not one, but two trials, by the Inquisition, did have a variety of lovers, including Marco Venier (played with wicked sensuality by Rufus Sewell) and went on to achieve some fame on her own terms.

In the movie, boy meets girl, boy told that girl is no good, not enough money, he marries someone else, and she becomes a courtesan to get a chance at him anyway. Along the way she gets to seduce the rich and powerful, build a nice little nest egg for herself and taunts the old boyfriend a bit... and runs afoul of the Inquisition, accused of being a witch by the jealous wife of the boyfriend, and by an old admirer who wants to settle a score. Of course it's going to have a happy ending.

But who cares -- the story is rollicking fun, and downright decadent in spots. Lovely scenery, nubile ladies and handsome gentlemen, a duel or two, some modern attitudes, and the two main characters are pretty easy on the eyes. There's some terrific secondary performances by Jacqueline Bisset, Moira Kelly, Simon Dutton, Oliver Platt and Fred Ward.

On a more serious note, the film also shows some of prevalent attitudes towards women at the time of the Renaissance -- namely, that women were of very little consequence, that education for a woman was often thought to lead to promiscuity, and that without wealth, there was very little hope for them at all. Watch for a scene between Veronica and a childhood friend who did manage to marry well, where you get a hint of just how constrained these women's lives were.

The costuming in the film is quite lovely too, and marvelous to see. There's one slight inaccuracy to the courtesan's costumes, their skirts were not worn that way, but it comes in awfully handy in the dueling sequence, so I try to ignore that part.

Given the usual treatment that Hollywood gives to historical films, Dangerous Beauty doesn't do too badly at all. The characters are real, they have passion and motivation for their actions. Both McCormick and Sewell glow in this one, as two lovers who know that they can never have a traditional future together, but try to anyway.

This film is rated R for good reason -- there is nudity, explicit sex (but tastefully done), plenty of innuendo, and some violence. Not for the young.

All in all, this film should have gotten a much wider reception when it was in theatrical release, but now that it is on video, go on and take a look. See it on DVD, if you can, since the visuals are so lush.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age