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Directed By
Saul Dibb
Written By:
Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen, Amanda Foreman, Saul Dibb
Cast:
Keira Knightley, Dominic Cooper, Ralph Fiennes, Hayley Atwell, Charlotte Rampling, Simon McBurney, Richard McCabe, Georgia King, Thomas Arnold, Calvin Dean, Aidan McArdle, Aidan McArdle, Angus McEwan, Mercy Fiennes Tiffin, Kate Burdette, Laura Stevely, Sadie Miller, Nicola Powell-Smith, Poppy Wigglesworth, Bruce Mackinnon, Hannah Stokely, Emily Cohen, Richard Syms, Sarah Wyatt, Emily Jewell, Andrew Armour, Sebastian Applewhite, Matthew Swan, Dale Mercer, Eva Hrela
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The Duchess (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
September 22nd, 2008
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'The Duchess' is an impeccably designed and superbly acted period drama that explores the life of Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, getting that title after marrying the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) when she is still a teenager. Here was a remarkably vibrant and beautiful woman, a free spirit crippled and restrained in an England whose laws were written and enforced by men; the status of a woman in this snobbish patriarchal society was admittedly rather low, she was expected only to bear children and be subject to the will of her husband. Spencer is played by an exquisite Keira Knightley, who is currently the favorite choice for films like this, after her delightful turn in the most recent adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and her work in Atonement.
Knightley has the necessary elegance and charisma to play this character. Spencer's relationship with the Duke is dull and loveless; he pays no attention to her, and is frustrated that she has given him two daughters instead of a son. She becomes a celebrity, a fashion icon, politically active and supportive of suffragist and feminist causes, before they were officially known as such. The Duke takes a mistress, the young Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell), which is perfectly acceptable for a male member of the nobility. Spencer becomes involved with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), an aspiring candidate for the office of Prime Minister; their affair will lead to Spencer's downfall, once it is discovered. No one can tolerate female infidelity, and the Duke is worried about how the actions of his wife could affect his own reputation. It is an insulting and unjust double standard, but one that cannot be effectively challenged or overturned. In many ways, Spencer was like Marie Antoinette, only she was not beheaded or viewed with distrust and suspicion by the average citizen.
They were instead, enthralled by her, inevitably she provoked curiosity and gossip, fueled rumors both jovial and malicious that would have been excellent fodder for the modern tabloid. The film emphasizes Spencer's modern qualities, compares her to famous and wealthy folks worshiped today, like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, whose personal lives are the source of media speculation and public interest. Despite the stellar production values, which provide an impressively authentic rendition of 18th century England, and the strong cast, director Saul Dibb and co-writers Jeffrey Hatcher and Anders Thomas Jensen craft an overly familiar and derivative story that is more long-winded than it should be.
And, even with a strong cast, poor Ralph Fiennes must contend with a relatively drab and one-note role; Cooper, however, makes for a charming leading man, and Atwell is terrific, fleshing out Bess without vilifying her, and she wisely never overshadows Georgiana. Bess and Georgiana used to be friends, and now live under the same roof, as romantic rivals for the Duke. Charlotte Rampling is solid as Georgiana's mother, who arranges her marriage to the Duke, as a means of social mobility, something Georgiana is eager to achieve. Women will certainly connect to Georgiana, and sympathize with her, as most viewers will regardless of gender, acquiring a disdain for the restrictive world she inhabits, which is almost unfathomable today, at least in Western cultures. Sadly, women in many regions across the globe continue to be trapped in such environments, and their liberation is likely not to be achieved in the near future.
The radical transformation of England regarding women, over the course of two centuries, may well have been helped along by Georgiana's activism and her desire to challenge the status quo. Her legacy was carried on by others, and bolstered by the presence of powerful and influential queens, like Victoria, who doubtless shattered the prevailing notions of women as the weaker sex. Victoria's reign was one of England's most productive, and while she did have male advisers and male prime minsters to dictate policy, she was a formidable personality, and a beloved national symbol. And she oversaw the gradual implementation of liberalistic ideas that would eventually gain enough momentum to demolish patriarchy forever. A shame Georgiana was not around to witness it and benefit from it.
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 | Krissy
Oct 10, 2008 9:07 PM
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| wow, good review (" |
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