Dangerous Beauty (1998)

Dangerous Beauty (1998)

 

Veronica Franco: I repent there was no other way open to me.  I do not repent my life.

Dangerous Beauty is not a good movie, but it does have the benefit of some great costumes.

Portrait of the real Veronica Franco.

It is about Veronica Franco (Catherine McCormack, who played Murron in Braveheart), a famed courtesan in Vienna in the 16th century.

As a young woman she falls in love with Marco Venier (Rufus Sewell), an aristocrat.  Though he loves her back, he marries a wealthy woman to please his family:

Marco: You know we can't marry.
Veronica: I know only what you tell me.
Marco: I must marry according to my station and my family's wealth.
Veronia: Then why are you here?
Marco: Because I could not stay away.
Veronica: Then don't.
Marco: My marriage must be a marriage of state.
Veronica: My people are true citizens years back.
Marco: A coat of arms does not an inheritance make.
Veronica: I speak of love and you talk of money.
Marco: Of my duty.
Veronica: And your heart?
Marco: This isn't about my heart, it's about politics.
Veronica: How romantic.
Marco: Marriage isn't romantic. That's why God invented poetry.
Veronica: To sweeten men's lying lips!
Marco: If I were a liar, would I tell you this now?
Veronica: If you cared for me, you could not tell me this ever.
Marco: I want you.
Veronica: Not enough.



Veronica’s mother, a former courtesan herself, encourages Veronica to begin training to become a courtesan.  She needs to be able to support herself, and courtesans are able to earn an education, which other Italian women are not allowed to do:

Veronica: Mother, we can't go in there. Ladies can't go in there.
Paola Franco: Courtesans can.  The Emperor Pericles relied more for policy on his mistress than he ever did on his lieutenants.  Courtesans, my dear, are the most educated women in the world.

Henry III and a portrait of the real Henry III of France.

She ends up enjoying it.  She earns renown for her beauty and wit, and even helps to support the Italian cause politically by winning over the very strange Henry III of France in the bedroom.  All this causes trouble with Marco, who still loves her, but cannot come to terms with her profession:

Veronica: I could not refuse.
Marco: Couldn't you?  I think you like it.
Veronica: You like what it has made me.
Marco: I don't like what it makes me.

When courtesans fall from favor after the arrival of the plague, Veronica is charged with witchcraft, but escapes prosecution when Marco provides a passionate defense of her character and the other aristocrats, all ex-lovers, follow suit and stand up for her.

While I know that Veronica is based on a real person, her character still didn’t ring very true.  Everything seemed to come too easily for her.  I think they could have explored her personality and feelings a little more.  The acting was ho-hum, and the script was much the same.

It’s not a very original film, but Veronica's dresses are a feast for the eyes.  Otherwise, there's not much to recommend it.