Morgan BellREVIEW: The Duchess
October 29th 2008 10:37
Directed: Saul Dibb (Bullet Boy)
Written: Jeffrey Hatcher (Stage Beauty), Saul Dibb (Bullet Boy), Anders Thomas Jensen - based on the book by Amanda Foreman
Starring: Keira Knightley (Atonement, Bend It Like Beckham), Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardner, The English Patient), Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited), Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia), Simon McBurney (The Golden Compass, Friends With Money)
Ralph Fiennes may be the most despicable character you see at the cinema this year. His portrayal of The Duke makes you want to stab him with a butter knife. He is the much older un-loving husband of Georgiana Spencer Cavendish (Knightley). He is cold and selfish, treating Georgiana merely as breeding stock and essentially making her a prisoner in her own home. The Duke is not overtly evil, he is just a product of his times, but he entraps Georgiana in a painful marriage under the guise of promised love and then emotionally abandons her.
The Duchess is based on the true story of the Duchess of Devonshire. She married The Duke at age 17 and became an eccentric and influential figure in English politics, fashion, gambling and social events. Georgiana led a scandalous life around the 1770s. Her husband humiliated her by keeping a mistress in her home who he much preferred. She was something of an "un-shackled slave", used to produce a male heir and forced to stay in the marriage for threat of being severed from her children and financially and socially ruined.
This film is brilliant and Keira Knightly is superb in it. She captures the naivety of youth and the pain of a woman scorned. Her character is disrespected and dishonoured in so many ways yet she is able to summon incredible strength and resignation. This is the story of jealousy, envy, isolation and neglect. Knightly is convincingly maternal and protective, and this really is a film about mothers and the lengths they had to go to in a time when they had no more rights than cattle.
The Duchess is beautifully executed, with the most lavish of costumes and wigs. The supporting cast all have a genuinely sweet dynamic with Georgiana, including Lady Bess Foster (Atwell), Earl Charles Grey (Cooper), and Charles James Fox (McBurney). The biggest tragedy in this story is that due to the lack of wealth distribution the people who cared for Georgiana had to sit back and silently watch while The Duke snuffed out her every happiness and freedom.
Princess Diana and Fergie the Duchess of York are both descendants of Georgiana and many critics are drawing parallels between the lives and mariiages of these women. This "breeding stock" perception of women still exists among royals and aristocrats with their arranged marriages and nobel blood etc, but the big difference is that power and permissions that come with being recognised and supported by the law.
This film is very well done and successfully stirs many emotions of sadness, pity, and frustration, however the feelings that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema are anger at the way women used to be treated, and gratitude for how much things have changed.
Written: Jeffrey Hatcher (Stage Beauty), Saul Dibb (Bullet Boy), Anders Thomas Jensen - based on the book by Amanda Foreman
Starring: Keira Knightley (Atonement, Bend It Like Beckham), Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardner, The English Patient), Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited), Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia), Simon McBurney (The Golden Compass, Friends With Money)
Ralph Fiennes may be the most despicable character you see at the cinema this year. His portrayal of The Duke makes you want to stab him with a butter knife. He is the much older un-loving husband of Georgiana Spencer Cavendish (Knightley). He is cold and selfish, treating Georgiana merely as breeding stock and essentially making her a prisoner in her own home. The Duke is not overtly evil, he is just a product of his times, but he entraps Georgiana in a painful marriage under the guise of promised love and then emotionally abandons her.
The Duchess is based on the true story of the Duchess of Devonshire. She married The Duke at age 17 and became an eccentric and influential figure in English politics, fashion, gambling and social events. Georgiana led a scandalous life around the 1770s. Her husband humiliated her by keeping a mistress in her home who he much preferred. She was something of an "un-shackled slave", used to produce a male heir and forced to stay in the marriage for threat of being severed from her children and financially and socially ruined.
This film is brilliant and Keira Knightly is superb in it. She captures the naivety of youth and the pain of a woman scorned. Her character is disrespected and dishonoured in so many ways yet she is able to summon incredible strength and resignation. This is the story of jealousy, envy, isolation and neglect. Knightly is convincingly maternal and protective, and this really is a film about mothers and the lengths they had to go to in a time when they had no more rights than cattle.
The Duchess is beautifully executed, with the most lavish of costumes and wigs. The supporting cast all have a genuinely sweet dynamic with Georgiana, including Lady Bess Foster (Atwell), Earl Charles Grey (Cooper), and Charles James Fox (McBurney). The biggest tragedy in this story is that due to the lack of wealth distribution the people who cared for Georgiana had to sit back and silently watch while The Duke snuffed out her every happiness and freedom.
Princess Diana and Fergie the Duchess of York are both descendants of Georgiana and many critics are drawing parallels between the lives and mariiages of these women. This "breeding stock" perception of women still exists among royals and aristocrats with their arranged marriages and nobel blood etc, but the big difference is that power and permissions that come with being recognised and supported by the law.
This film is very well done and successfully stirs many emotions of sadness, pity, and frustration, however the feelings that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema are anger at the way women used to be treated, and gratitude for how much things have changed.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i dont think i have ever seen Keira Knightley in such a deep and gruelling role . . . she brings so much realism to the part, i wouldnt be surprised if she got an Oscar nomination!
i hope you enjoy it!
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i think this is the best thing shes done so far . . . and probably the best think ive seen Ralph Fiennes in too, hes just such a bastard, you want to jump into the screen and strangle him!
i would rate The Duchess as highly as The Piano and much more engaging than Marie Antoinette
Comment by Mister Smith
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I haven't seen this movie but i wonder what makes you describe Keira Knightley as vapid and untalented. I think she is a very good actress and her perfomance in 'Atonement' made me cry. I will admit that I have seen many digitally-enhanced photos of her that make me want to scream.
Comment by Cheryl J
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I looks like we have a few similar views but I saw the Duke slightly differently.
Great review, I hope you'll take a peek at mine
Comment by Morgan Bell
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snap indeed! haha
i liked your review very much!
this paragraph about the Duke was particularly insightful:
however i did feel he was the one with all the power and could have made the choice to not put himself and his rank above her misery at any time - he set his own priorities in guidance with tradition but there was noone above him pushing his hand, just his own sense of pride
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Atonement is a favourite movie of mine, and i thought Keira Knightley did very well in it - i think as an actress she hasnt had that many challenging dramatic parts yet, but i think she definately has the talent!
Comment by Butterfly7
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I didnt think i would like it at all....
But really enjoyed it.....
i wish i could go back in time to sort the Duke out!!!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh i know!
we need a time machine to go back and give the Duke a talking to!
im glad you enjoyed the movie!