Review of Dangerous Beauty (1998) by Alyssa N — 01 Jun 2008

This movie tries hard to be a representation of one woman's struggle to rise above the repressive and misogynistic atmosphere of sixteenth-century Venice, but it negates these good intentions by being, in substance, little more than a fantasy for lonely housewives about what romance and sex should be.

Neither the love or sex in this movie is believable (or erotic, for that matter), since both come out of thin air and neither aspect is ever developed, and for a movie that's largely about love and sex, that's pretty unforgivable.

But if you're really desperate for a period piece, I will say that the Venetian sets and costumes here are gorgeous and should at least give you something to focus on when the thin plot and characters aren't worth your attention.