Thursday, February 19, 1998
‘Beauty’ uses past to illuminate present
FILM: Director explores 16th-century ‘whores,’ paradox of modern
day
By Lonnie Harris
Daily Bruin Contributor
It follows the traditions of "Pretty Woman" and "Leaving Las
Vegas." But these dangerous beauties live in Renaissance
Venice.
"Dangerous Beauty," which opens tomorrow, unfolds its tale of
courtly prostitutes as a morality play for modern audiences rather
than a fable or a period piece. At least, that’s what the director
and the cast hope the audience gets out the story.
The film, based on a non-fiction book called "The Honest
Courtesan," retells the adventures of Veronica Franco (Catherine
McCormack), a lower-class girl who cannot marry her true love
(Rufus Sewell) and therefore becomes a courtesan (a delightfully
innocent 16th-century word for "whore").
We learn early on in the film that courtesans are the most
educated, intelligent women in all of Venice because, unlike wives,
they have no responsibility to any husbands or children. Whereas
most of the women in the city are oppressed by their men, the
courtesans are free to do as they choose. The whole story plays
almost as a negative of modern society, where upwardly mobile women
are perceived as having more freedom and education than any hooker
on the streets.
This paradox is exactly what director Marshall Herskovitz wanted
to convey. Herskovitz, best known for producing television’s
"Thirtysomething," and "My So-Called Life," tried to use Franco’s
story, however antiquated it may be, to say something to modern
women about the roles they play in society.
"This particular period piece gave us a wonderful opportunity to
look at certain ironies of how we live today," Herskovitz says.
"Here’s a world in this film in which if you are a regular woman,
you aren’t allowed to read, you have a marriage arranged by your
parents, your husband cares nothing for you, you’re basically a
breeding sheep and you die young. If you’re a prostitute, you’re
educated, you’re expected to be an artist of some kind, you are
free to own your own home and free to have love."
The film attacks the notion that women can be placed into
certain roles automatically. Franco fights against such
pigeon-holing by showing off her wit and poetic abilities openly,
as well as familiarizing herself with much of the literature and
art of the time. She becomes, as one character refers to her, "a
national asset." It is this freedom to be both a sexual being and a
learned, productive person that Herskovitz hopes all women can one
day achieve.
"The movie’s trying to say that it’s time to allow people to be
integrated as one self, which includes sexuality," Herskovitz
explains.
For obvious reasons, the film delves very deeply into the issue
of sexuality, and how much of a woman’s overall nature is made up
of her physical appearance and her sensuousness.
For Herskovitz and the other creators of "Dangerous Beauty," the
real message of the movie is that women cannot be treated as sexual
objects, but are beings for whom sexuality is one small portion of
their overall personality. He finds hope that these views are
coming to fruition in the younger generation.
"There has begun to be a voice, especially among younger women,
that ‘I don’t want to be seen that way any more,’" Herskovitz says.
"’I don’t want people to judge me by my sexual partners, or my
number of sexual partners, or what I wear to work. It’s my damn
business."’
The focus on sexuality is also a concern for actress Catherine
McCormack, who portrays Franco as beautiful but also strikingly
intelligent.
"Being in this business and working in Hollywood is very much
about the way you look," McCormack admits.
As well, McCormack took to the script in large part because she
understood the character and felt for her plight. As a woman,
McCormack realizes how few opportunities were available to females
living in the Renaissance, or any other period in history.
In addition to sympathizing with the Venetian girls’ lack of
options for their future well-being, McCormack can now sympathize
with the fashions that were thrust upon these women as well. She
had to perform most of her scenes in tight-fitting corsets and
uncomfortable shoes.
"The restriction of those dresses, after three months, really
got to me," McCormack says. "They’re very beautiful, but the
restrictiveness of wearing them every day is a very vivid
memory."
FILM: "Dangerous Beauty" opens Friday.