Dangerous Beauty is supposedly based on real-life Venetian courtesan Veronica Franco, and to its credit, the person existed, her educational background is true, and her being charged in front of the Inquisition for witchcraft after an epidemic has really been documented. It’s a perfect idea for a feminist feature promoting education for women, and highlighting the double standards with pleasure and sexuality, so on that note, it presents an okay case. Sadly, this was made during the time when Hollywood was not able to conceive of a film about a woman without having to center it on her pursuit of love, even though reportedly, she chose to become a courtesan to avoid marriage altogether. Because of this, Dangerous Beauty isn’t as dangerous as it could have been, leading to a fairly mundane historical drama undercut by its romance. And it doesn’t even highlight her writing!