Casanova, Last Love Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Casanova, Last Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 11, 2021

Giacomo Casanova has been portrayed on film and for television numerous times, but the fact that this iconic character has been essayed by everyone from Bela Lugosi to John Malkovich to Richard Chamberlain may give rise to the suspicion that various interpretations of Casanova have been widely variant. In that regard, though, it's interesting to note that in terms of thinking about Casanova as a dashing man who was evidently irresistible to women that Lugosi and Malkovich in particular may admittedly have a certain almost bizarre magnetism that at the same time doesn't offer the same traditional matinee idol good looks of someone like Chamberlain. Vincent Lindon portrays a somewhat older Casanova in this film (including some bookending segments where he plays a positively ancient version of the character), and that almost inherently gives this film an interesting perspective, at least in terms of any perceived May - December (or in this case, December - May) romance. However, it's this film's insistence that a focal female is "the one that got away" which attempts to set it apart from other Casanova cinematic offerings, though rather ironically given that setup, this is a rather emotionless film a lot of the time.

It seems evident that Benoît Jacquot may have wanted to recreate the same kind of "intimate" historical epic that he fashioned with Farewell, My Queen, and for those who like so-called "costume dramas", Casanova, Last Love* at least offers a rather gorgeous production design, including attire worn by various characters. But this is an oddly lethargic narrative that derives whatever energy it musters arguably not from any "through line", but from individual moments, some of which can be quite effective. In fact, the opening vignettes of an exiled Casanova kind of stumbling slack jawed through London for the first time like Dante traipsing through one of the levels of Hell are inherently fascinating, kind of ironically positing a slightly uptight Casanova who can't quite adjust to the heathen ways of the British.

That sort of observational drama is what Casanova, Last Love does best, but then the film attempts to make a fetching prostitute named Marianne (Stacy Martin) the supposedly unobtainable object of Casanova's desires. That may not exactly be in Lolita and Humbert Humbert territory, but there's not just an age difference but the added layer that Marianne doesn't seem to be anyone's fool and Casanova is going to have to pay for the privilege of having a relationship with her. That in and of itself tends to put the damper on any "star-crossed lost love" aspect, which the film seems to want to proffer in terms of some kind of "understanding" of what made Casanova tick.

This is an inarguably handsome production that suffers from a certain stasis, despite the roiling emotions that are supposedly on display. What is weirdly missing at times is an acknowledgement of how age may have tempered Casanova's proclivities, and indeed maybe even his ability to attract women. Lindon has a kind of resigned quality that makes it apparent Casanova is jaded but not entirely extinguished in terms of a figurative and literal lust for life, but the entire story here aims for an operatic sensibility without ever delivering really visceral emotional content. The film also arguably almost completely ignores what could have been one of its most interesting aspects, namely Casanova's years in Bohemia, where his writing efforts were able to flourish. It's alluded to in the bookending segments, but is otherwise passed over in favor of a fictionalized version of what was evidently a bothersome real life relationship for Casanova, with the result feeling understandably artificial.

*Note: I'm going to rant just a bit about this film's title, at least as it's presented on the front cover and silkscreened disc label of this release. The film's original French title was simply Dernier Amour, namely Last Love, but some "wise" (?) marketing guru must have decided that shoehorning the name of the focal character into things was going to make everything more instantly understandable, though as any charter member of the grammar police will tell you, and as this release's title is hilariously given on the side of the keepcase insert and on various online sites (including this one), you need a comma after Casanova. There, rant ended, you may now return to your regular programming.

Casanova, Last Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Casanova, Last Love is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The IMDb lists the Red Monstro as the camera of choice, and the fact that that model captures at native sources of up to 8K makes me wonder if this film's DI was finished at 4K, given the overall excellent of the detail levels. While there are a surplus of scenes pretty much bathed in overwhelming yellows (which can be seen in several screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review), and there is an understandable ebbing of fine detail as a result at times, overall even these severe grading choices don't completely eliminate some rather striking general detail levels. The more brightly lit scenes pop with appealing naturalness, and fine detail on things like fabrics or, in a late scene in a garden maze, foliage, can typically be excellent.

Casanova, Last Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Casanova, Last Love features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks in the original French, with forced English subtitles. This is not an "epic" historical drama, in terms of presenting epochal events where surround activity can be overwhelming, but there is still rather nice and consistent immersion to be heard throughout this track. That can include ambient environmental sounds or things like horse hooves clopping across the soundstage, or both underscore and source cues (Casanova has a "thing" for a singer, which is one of this film's detours). A lot of the film is pretty resolutely talky, however, and many scenes play out between relatively few characters, and as such, surround activity can be limited. Fidelity is fine throughout.

Casanova, Last Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 2:02)

Casanova, Last Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm not quite sure why, but the character of Casanova has seemed to regularly elude some fairly competent filmmakers, and my reaction to Casanova, Last Love is that Benoît Jacquot is simply one of the latest to fall victim to this weird situation. I got the feeling Jacquot somehow wanted to "humanize" a legendary figure in some palpable way, which makes this film's odd emotional distance all the more perplexing. This is nonetheless a very handsomely mounted production which has a solid technical presentation on this disc, for those who are considering making a purchase.