Reaction Post - Casanova episode 1
Now, would I really be a good David Tennant fan if I hadn't watched (or at least started watching) Casanova? So I set out to find it. Being in the US, without a television, I had to do this somewhat illegally. Shhh.
Now, I'm a sucker for historical anything to begin with but adding David Tennant to the mix definitely peaked my interest and his acting, as always, was brilliant. I give you, Casanova.
by eekyes; brontide; brontide; brontide; phanviola_icons; phanviola_icons
Casanova starts with a bang as the man himself hoists himself out of a window and whistles for his horse, which comes loyally to the rescue, only to jump off the balcony and land on the ground, right beside his trusty stead. Which, apparently, isn't so trusty after all as it runs off without him leaving Casanova to run the heck away from the men that the woman's, who's room he just escaped from, husband called after him. He cleanly (okay ,so, not so cleanly) escapes from the group after being cornered and jumping in passing boat with enough force to knock the owner of the boat out. Casanova, Gion (pronounced much like: "John"), that is, then proceeds to talk to the men with clips of his older self switched to the scene in question.
And that, just that, is how Casanova the three part television series begins.
In a flash back, farther back than the current story, it is revealed that he spent most of his childhood as a mute and was constantly called an idiot by those around him. His mother left him when he was around eight to go into Court, a proper Court, she had said, and she apologized several times, stating that it wasn't her fault and looking rather obviously guilty. Casanova remains this way, mute and unintelligible, until one day a maid cleans him up and sleeps with him, at which point he "wakes up" and promptly finishes his schooling. By the time he leaves he is fluent in Spanish, French, Greek, Latin, and, I'm sure, Italian.
He moves to quarantined Venice at the age of twenty one, stating that, while he looked lovely, he had nothing to his name save the clothes on his back and the bit of money he had. And most of the clothes were either stolen or borrowed.
He attempts to fit in with the rich crowd when he gets to Venice only to be thwarted again and again. He happens to walk by as someone is mentioning something about Latin and, as Giacomo Casanova had been schooled in Latin, he explained what he thought of the term. He was then somewhat ridiculed and, brushing that off, he corrected something about what the Pope said. This lead to him being punched in the face by the man he corrected.
In the first twenty minutes we meet Casanova's love interest, a Henriette who meets his gaze when everyone else ignores him and teaches him the ropes. Along with a bit of his heart, she steals his bag of money, leaving him stranded with nothing to his name as everything he was wearing was either borrowed or stolen. At this point, however, we don't know her name nor anything about her.
One of the more amusing points in the first episode, half way in, was Casanova's odd ability to quickly become good at anything he wanted to. He had never studied law yet took it up and won the case ("Bloody hell."). He was not a doctor and did not follow the correct directions but he managed to cure what ailed the old woman (cue disbelieving look). He did not know astronomy but was able to connect two people through the stars. His comment on the last bit was: "This is beginning to scare me."
He meets Henriette again around the thirty minute mark and is introduced to her fiancee. Rather, it's the other way around. The man who she is betrothed to is none other than the very same man who gave Casanova a bloody nose within the first half of the film. Her fiancee leads Harionette away but, as they go, she looks over her shoulder at Casanova, something which clearly pleases him to some extent.
He names off a rather long list of names of woman and then one man. Who he spends quite a bit of time arguing with his "friends" the gender of. "Oh, you're a girl, aren't you. Tell me?" "I will take that as a compliment to my singing." And, of course, Henriette dares Casanova to go after the male, who he is still quite convinced is female, and her fiancee watches their exchange.
He does, indeed, pursue the man, who Casanova is still convinced is a woman up until teh point where he shoves his hand down the younger boy's pants. "One question. Do you love him?" "That's ridiculous... Yes." "Then love him... coward." In the end, Bellino, the once-assumed male was, in fact, female. With a "substitute" penis, though what it was made out of is beyond me and I'd really rather not know. Bellino and Casanova do indeed get together and he even proposes marriage, which she happily accepts. However, at the ball which he organized as her "coming out" party, of sorts, Henriette reappeared and Bellino met her, really met her, for the first time.
Bellino manipulated a dance so that she could switch out with Henriette, who was dancing with her fiance, a Duke, and did so. Giacomo Casanova and Henriette then escape to just outside the ballroom where they kiss and then run out of the panel.
The entire time, a much older Casanova is relaying his tales to a newly-hired maid, Maria and she questions, desperately, what happens next. Casanova replies: "My downfall."
Now, I'm a sucker for historical anything to begin with but adding David Tennant to the mix definitely peaked my interest and his acting, as always, was brilliant. I give you, Casanova.
by eekyes; brontide; brontide; brontide; phanviola_icons; phanviola_icons
Casanova starts with a bang as the man himself hoists himself out of a window and whistles for his horse, which comes loyally to the rescue, only to jump off the balcony and land on the ground, right beside his trusty stead. Which, apparently, isn't so trusty after all as it runs off without him leaving Casanova to run the heck away from the men that the woman's, who's room he just escaped from, husband called after him. He cleanly (okay ,so, not so cleanly) escapes from the group after being cornered and jumping in passing boat with enough force to knock the owner of the boat out. Casanova, Gion (pronounced much like: "John"), that is, then proceeds to talk to the men with clips of his older self switched to the scene in question.
And that, just that, is how Casanova the three part television series begins.
In a flash back, farther back than the current story, it is revealed that he spent most of his childhood as a mute and was constantly called an idiot by those around him. His mother left him when he was around eight to go into Court, a proper Court, she had said, and she apologized several times, stating that it wasn't her fault and looking rather obviously guilty. Casanova remains this way, mute and unintelligible, until one day a maid cleans him up and sleeps with him, at which point he "wakes up" and promptly finishes his schooling. By the time he leaves he is fluent in Spanish, French, Greek, Latin, and, I'm sure, Italian.
He moves to quarantined Venice at the age of twenty one, stating that, while he looked lovely, he had nothing to his name save the clothes on his back and the bit of money he had. And most of the clothes were either stolen or borrowed.
He attempts to fit in with the rich crowd when he gets to Venice only to be thwarted again and again. He happens to walk by as someone is mentioning something about Latin and, as Giacomo Casanova had been schooled in Latin, he explained what he thought of the term. He was then somewhat ridiculed and, brushing that off, he corrected something about what the Pope said. This lead to him being punched in the face by the man he corrected.
In the first twenty minutes we meet Casanova's love interest, a Henriette who meets his gaze when everyone else ignores him and teaches him the ropes. Along with a bit of his heart, she steals his bag of money, leaving him stranded with nothing to his name as everything he was wearing was either borrowed or stolen. At this point, however, we don't know her name nor anything about her.
One of the more amusing points in the first episode, half way in, was Casanova's odd ability to quickly become good at anything he wanted to. He had never studied law yet took it up and won the case ("Bloody hell."). He was not a doctor and did not follow the correct directions but he managed to cure what ailed the old woman (cue disbelieving look). He did not know astronomy but was able to connect two people through the stars. His comment on the last bit was: "This is beginning to scare me."
He meets Henriette again around the thirty minute mark and is introduced to her fiancee. Rather, it's the other way around. The man who she is betrothed to is none other than the very same man who gave Casanova a bloody nose within the first half of the film. Her fiancee leads Harionette away but, as they go, she looks over her shoulder at Casanova, something which clearly pleases him to some extent.
He names off a rather long list of names of woman and then one man. Who he spends quite a bit of time arguing with his "friends" the gender of. "Oh, you're a girl, aren't you. Tell me?" "I will take that as a compliment to my singing." And, of course, Henriette dares Casanova to go after the male, who he is still quite convinced is female, and her fiancee watches their exchange.
He does, indeed, pursue the man, who Casanova is still convinced is a woman up until teh point where he shoves his hand down the younger boy's pants. "One question. Do you love him?" "That's ridiculous... Yes." "Then love him... coward." In the end, Bellino, the once-assumed male was, in fact, female. With a "substitute" penis, though what it was made out of is beyond me and I'd really rather not know. Bellino and Casanova do indeed get together and he even proposes marriage, which she happily accepts. However, at the ball which he organized as her "coming out" party, of sorts, Henriette reappeared and Bellino met her, really met her, for the first time.
Bellino manipulated a dance so that she could switch out with Henriette, who was dancing with her fiance, a Duke, and did so. Giacomo Casanova and Henriette then escape to just outside the ballroom where they kiss and then run out of the panel.
The entire time, a much older Casanova is relaying his tales to a newly-hired maid, Maria and she questions, desperately, what happens next. Casanova replies: "My downfall."