The Duchess (2008)

Director:

Saul Dibb

Writers (WGA):

Jeffrey Hatcher (screenplay) and
Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

There were three people in her marriage

Plot:

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.

Plot Keywords:

Duke | Duchess | 18th Century | Children | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Keira Knightley	...	Georgiana
Ralph Fiennes	...	The Duke
Charlotte Rampling	...	Lady Spencer
Dominic Cooper	...	Charles Grey
Hayley Atwell	...	Bess Foster
Simon McBurney	...	Charles Fox
Aidan McArdle	...	Richard Sheridan
John Shrapnel	...	General Grey
Alistair Petrie	...	Heaton
Patrick Godfrey	...	Dr. Neville
Michael Medwin	...	Speechmaker
Justin Edwards	...	Macaroni
Richard McCabe	...	Sir James Hare
Calvin Dean	...	Devonshire House Servant
Hannah Stokely	...	Devonshire House Maid

Also Known As:

La duchessa (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity and thematic material.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK | Italy | France

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (cut) (certificate #44471) | UK:12A | Ireland:15A | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Sweden:7 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | New Zealand:M | Brazil:14 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:13 | Czech Republic:U | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Germany:12 (f)

Filming Locations:

Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Vantage

Trivia:

The Tuscan red zone-front gown worn by Keira Knightley (known as the "Drunken Dress") had to be made in triplicate due to a stunt scripted for the scene. The costume required 36 meters of silk total for the three gowns, with green and gold lace applied by hand to each one.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene with the little girls in the carriage, when they print on the screen the names of Harryo, Little G, and Charlotte, they mix up Harryo and Little G's names. Harryo is the youngest, with the dark hair, but they put the name "Little G" in the front of this child and put "Harryo" in front of the blond older child. In a subsequent scene, Harryo, the youngest with the dark hair, falls and scrapes her knee. Georgiana specifically calls her by name, Harryo. In fact, Little G was older than Harryo. So the scene with the names is incorrect, while the scene with the scraped knee is correct.

Quotes:

Charles Grey: Please tell me what is wrong.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: I fear I've done some things in life too late and others too early.
Charles Grey: No, you haven't.
[kisses her]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2009) (TV)

A great period piece, Kiera pulls in a fantastic performance

I couldn't wait for The Duchess, I am just a huge fan of period pieces and Kiera Knightly is becoming a fantastic actress in this genre. I was looking forward to this film mainly because I studied Georgina a little bit in college for my history class and I always thought she was such an elegant and strong woman that stood out from the others. She was like the Madonna of her day, she had a great sense of style, self, and strength. While the movie is not completely accurate, it still was a fine movie to watch. Kiera truly held her own as Georgina and was absolutely stunning. One of the underlining stories that I appreciate in this film is the battle of the sexes. Ralph Fiennes who plays the Duke of Devonshire does a fantastic job as well and he plays this anti-villain, shows the true side of the pain and pressure men felt but how they looked at women as nothing but property. This story truly touches you and makes you grateful for our present day.

Georgina is born into a high class family of royalty who is about to be married off to the Duke of Devonshire and everything seems great, G is going to live the high life of class, culture, and being a lady of the people. She comes across the price though: her husband's affairs that are practically rubbed in her face, her life is constantly watched and judged by people, she must be perfect at all times to keep up her reputation as a joyful lady, she is forced to be the mother of the duke's child from an affair he had, as well as she cannot birth a son for the Duke and he will find every opportunity to rub it in her face. All this and Georgina has found another love who she cannot give her heart to fully for the love of her children and people.

The Duchess is a fine film that I truly enjoyed. I wouldn't be surprised if Kiera was nominated for best actress during the academy season. I would highly recommend this movie, especially for the period piece lovers. Like I said, this film makes you appreciate what we have today in our modern society and truly makes you feel for the pressures both men and women had to face in that day. Georgina is a figure that I think is very looked over in history when she is one of the strongest presences in England's history. The Duchess, even though not entirely accurate, does a very good job of telling her story and was a pleasure to watch.

8/10