Dangerous Beauty is a 1998 American biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz and starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, and Oliver Platt. Dangerous Beauty R 1h 51min Biography, Drama, Romance 20 February 1998 (USA) A Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft. Aerosoft Md-11 Liveries on this page.

Running time 112 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $8 million (estimated) Box office $4 million Dangerous Beauty is a 1998 American directed by and starring,, and. Based on the non-fiction book by, the film is about, a courtesan in sixteenth-century Venice who becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft. The film features a supporting cast that includes,, and. The film was released as A Destiny of Her Own in some regions, and was retitled The Honest Courtesan for its UK video release. Contents • • • • • • Plot [ ] () is an adventurous, curious, slightly tomboyish young woman in Venice.

Her lover Marco () cannot marry her because her family is of too low standing to be considered an appropriate match for a senator's son, and not wealthy enough to provide a good dowry. Marco, a future Senator, marries a foreign noblewoman instead. Veronica's mother () must think of the future and her family's financial security, as she still requires dowries for her younger daughters and money for her son's commission.

Rather than go to a convent, Veronica's mother suggests she become a, a highly paid, cultured prostitute like her mother and grandmother before her. At first Veronica is repelled by the idea, but once she discovers that courtesans are allowed access to libraries and education, she tentatively embraces the idea. Veronica quickly gains a reputation as a top courtesan, impressing the powerful men of Venice with her beauty, wit, and compassion. Marco finds it difficult to adjust to his new wife, who is nothing like Veronica, and becomes jealous as she takes his friends and relatives as lovers. After Marco's cousin Maffio, a poor bard who was once publicly upstaged by Veronica, attacks her, Marco rushes to her aid. They rekindle their romance.

Marco wishes her to stop seeing clients and accept his support instead; she rejects the idea, unwilling to sacrifice her financial independence or accept a faux-wife status. Nevertheless, she spends a great deal of time with Marco in the country, neglecting her business, and ignoring her mother's warnings that such a relationship is dangerous for her. The breaks out, and the city appeals to France for aid. Veronica is encouraged to seduce the and secures a military alliance. Marco accuses her of enjoying being a courtesan, seeming to think she ought to have rejected the King despite the risk to Venice's military and political alliances.

Veronica points out that she sacrificed their love for the good of the city, while he only did it to protect his family's political standing, and Marco leaves for war angry. While the Venetians are fighting at sea, a plague hits the city. Religious zealots take the war and plague as punishment for the city's moral degradation, and Veronica's home is quarantined and almost ransacked by a mob.

Veronica is summoned to appear before the on charges of witchcraft and refuses to name her clients. When it appears that she will be executed, Marco publicly shames the Venetian ministers and senators into admitting their own adulteries and sins by standing up in the assembly. Bewildered by the extent of sin in the city, the Inquisitor drops the charges of witchcraft, and Marco and Veronica reconcile. Cast [ ] • as • as Marco Venier • as Maffio Venier • as Domenico Venier • as Giulia De Lezze • as Beatrice Venier • as Paola Franco • as Pietro Venier • as Laura Venier • as Livia • as Serafino Franco • as Elena Franco • as King Henry • as Minister Ramberti • Grant Russell as Francesco Martenengo Reception [ ] The film opened in limited release on 20 February 1998 to mixed but mostly positive reviews, receiving a 69 percent freshness rating on the movie critics website. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gives it 3 1/2 stars and lauds the writers, noting that 'few movies have been so deliberately told from a woman's point of view.Most movies are made by males and show women enthralled by men. This movie knows better.'