Pretty romp without the sex

Cheers and catcalls greeted the crowded press premiere of Lasse Hallstrom's Casanova at the Venice festival. The cheers were for a romantic comedy, shot in Venice, which its supporters claimed reminded them of the anarchic work of Richard Lester in films like The Three Musketeers.

The catcalls were from those who thought the true story of Giacomo Casanova, who was a spy, diplomat, soldier and writer as well as a serial seducer, was considerably more intriguing than the film suggests.

No one could seriously criticise Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller, the film's two stars, who encompass the screenplay with some enthusiasm even when mere clichés are called for.

Ledger plays Casanova as a rip-roaring young seducer, clambering over rickety roofs and making hay with the girls until faced with Miller's Francesca, an independently minded writer who captures his heart by rejecting his wiles.

There's little actual sex in the movie, just remarks like that of Ken Stott as Casanova's police nemesis: "Eternal damnation for one night with Casanova?" to which a pretty young nun replies: "Seems fair."

Hallstrom, the Swedish director of Cider House Rules and Chocolat, paints Venice as a glorious 18th-century bordello where everyone is trying to be someone else under their carnival masks and the Pope is powerless to prevent either heresy or licentiousness.

He has Jeremy Irons playing Bishop Pucci, the Pope's Inquisitor, almost as a pantomime figure of fun, boiling over with rage at not being able to nail Casanova once and for all.

He also has Oliver Pratt play the rotund owner of a lard factory who enlists Casanova's aid to secure marriage to a local beauty. Both play their parts furiously, never afraid to go over the top.

The film, shot in famous places like St Mark's Square, but also using rather obvious painted backdrops, doesn't take itself seriously for a moment. You keep on expecting Errol Flynn to round a corner with swashbuckling intent. I wish he had.

The film has energy and pace but very little sophistication. But if you like pretty costumes to go with pretty faces, and the kind of historical romp that murders reality but provides instant, easy entertainment, this Casanova is for you. Otherwise, stick to the darker, more accurate Fellini version.