Dangerous Beauty
Taken as light entertainment, Dangerous Beauty is an exquisitely-fashioned 16th century drama. Based on Margaret Rosenthal's novel The Good Courtesan, it tells the true story of Veronica Franco, the spunky, educated daughter of an old but penniless Venician family. Forbidden to marry her lover, the wealthy Marco Venier, who has already been promised to another, and horrified by the prospect of life as a nun, Veronica is advised by her mother that she can still have Marco and follow her intellectual pursuits by becoming a courtesan. The story follows Veronica's rise and her subsequent success as a poet. But riotous living has its consequences and Venice is soon visited by the plague, for which the courtesans are scapegoated.
The entire film is absolutely succulent to behold, bathed in ethereal lighting which evokes Renaissance paintings. The sets, designed by Norman Garwood (Hook, The Princess Bride) are no less lavish, while the score by George Fenton (Dangerous Liaisons) accentuates and often provides the film's passion and romance. The performances are also impressive, with Catherine McCormack carrying much of the weight of the film as Veronica, and Rufus Sewell equally appealing as the handsome Marco.
However, the film ultimately consists more of romantic fantasy than realism. Dangerous Beauty effectively addresses the sexual inequities and misogyny of 16th-century Venice and depicts Veronica's admirable achievements within that society. However, her defense of her profession (at the film's finale) as a wondrous life of passion and fulfillment is hard to accept, as is the film's determined attempt to gloss over the uglier facets of a courtesan's life. Despite cursory references to herbal abortion brews and the grim fate of aging courtesans, the film generally celebrates the world of the courtesan as one of glamour and carefree fun, depicting even Veronica's boudoir duties as orgasmically fulfilling. No reference is ever made to the fact that in real life, Veronica unquestionably suffered from venereal disease, and that she and her client's poxed bodies would have been rotting away from a myriad of horrifying ailments.
Even so, while these omissions never
quite spoil the fun. For all its moral ambiguities, it is hard
not to be entertained by Dangerous Beauty, and whatever the
naïve failings of the script, it is all pulled off with
dash and splendor.
Paul Andrew MacLean
Shelton CT 06484 USA
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LadyJanet@RenaissanceMagazine.com