The Duchess (2008)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

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 | Sex

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

Susanne Bier wrote an early draft of the script and was originally attached to direct the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the rape scene which takes place in the Duchess's bedroom, the entry is through double doors. When you see Bess listening outside the room; the entry is a single door.

Quotes:

Charles Fox: [admiring Georgiana's pregnancy] A huge belly has never been more becoming on anyone.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan: Well, Fox, here, offers an expert opinion seeing, as he does, a giant belly every time he passes a mirror.

Movie Connections:

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

Compelling and Layered Costume Drama

The Duchess is a superior slice of costume drama which manages to craft interesting, multi dimensional characters and an involving storyline from the well worn confines of the genre.

Keira Knightley plays a very similar role to the one she played in Pride and Prejudice, a feisty, modern woman trapped in a male dominated society. However, whereas Lizzie Bennett's heart and character inspires affection, the Duchess of Devonshire's fosters only reproach and punishment from her traditional and patriarchal husband. Her performance is a standout and demonstrates why she is so highly rated in the face of many disappointing roles in other films. She brings both strength and weakness to the character. Able to deliver withering put downs at her husband and others, whilst showing the pain of her loveless marriage etched into her face.

If Knightley is the lynchpin of the piece then it is Ralph Fiennes that elevates it above a crowded genre. Resisting the temptation to play his character as evil, instead he simply plays him as a man of his times. In Fiennes' hands the Duke feels no need to win any bouts of verbal jousting with his wife as he is secure in the knowledge that, as a husband, he is in complete control of the relationship. The Duke also clearly sees very little wrong in his treatment of his wife and acts, as he sees it, in a logic manner making the whole film feel more believable and, as a result, tragic.

In terms of the cast the only misstep is Dominic Cooper as Charles Grey, who lends the wide eyes of a political dreamer but doesn't have convincing chemistry with Knightley and plays one of the more one dimensional characters in the piece. However Hayley Atwell impresses by playing her character so well it is possible to describe her as scheming, and manipulative as well as sympathetic and loyal without it seeming a contradiction.

The film is deliberately paced so as to give characters and events time to breathe, encouraging the mood that the marriage is a car crash in slow motion, inextricably drawing all the characters further into the muddled mess of their relationships. Overall it's a fully recommended slice of real life costume drama that draws a multi layered drama full of compellingly deep characters from what could easily have been a one note story.