The Duchess - Movie Review

The Duchess profiles the life of Georgina Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire. The Duchess was a politically active outspoken aristocrat in eighteenth century England. She was ahead of her time in many ways to include her politics, her sense of fashion and her dalliances.

The Duchess (Keira Knightly) marries the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) two days before her seventeenth birthday. The Duke has a ferocious appetite for women, that he has no issue satiating. Although the Duchess is extremely popular, fashion-oriented and loved by the people, the Duke satisfies his sexual whims with whomever he pleases. The double-standard is not lost on the progressive Duchess, who engages in her own affair with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) the future Prime Minister of England. The affair results in the birth of a daughter, who is later raised by Grey's family as his sister.

The Duchess follows the marriage of Georgina to the Duke. The Duke has an illegitimate daughter by his maid. After the maid dies, the Duchess raises this daughter as their own. Rather than experiencing the joy of his three daughters, the Duke seems preoccupied by the absence of a male heir. This brooding drives a wedge between the two. When the Duke learns of Georgina's affair with Charles Grey, he demands the submission of his wife at the risk of losing her children. True to his Victorian double-standard, the Duke maintains his own relationship with the Lady Foster (Hayley Atwell) whom he marries later in life. The film examines the emotional aspects of the three-way relationship between Lady Foster, the Duke and Duchess.

In real life, Georgina was probably wise to stick things out with the Duke of Devonshire. Although their relationship was strained with their "third wheel," Lord Grey had his own insatiable sexual appetite. He was renowned for his many affairs. Furthermore, the Duke turned a blind eye to the extreme gambling habits of the Duchess, who died with gambling debts that exceed three million dollars in today's money.

The story of The Duchess is interesting, because it shows the liberal lifestyles of English aristocracy during a period that most people associate with Puritanism. The lurid lifestyle surprised me. Between the rampant gambling, sexual encounters and political manipulation, one might think they are reading a headline from today. The film dealt with the unknown qualities of those issues well, touching on the known facts surrounding the Duchess. The film painted the Duchess as the victim, which seemed a bit contrived considering her complicity in her own situation. I tend to think the Duchess was more involved in her own set of circumstances than this film lets on.

The characters are modestly well developed, but could have been examined more thoroughly. The Duchess seemed too innocent to me, while the Duke barely showed a likable side. There seemed to be little depth to their relationship, which seems at odds with the fact that they remained together in spite of the extramarital affairs, gambling and social interactions. Lady Foster was probably the best developed character, showing a bit of depth in a smaller role. The dialogue was rich, the story a decent interpretation and concept fairly credible (as checked against historical accounts). I never fully connected with any of the characters. The writing was fairly good but had room for improvement.

The acting, on the other hand, was spot on. Fiennes brought a bit of depth to a character that otherwise lacked it. Although he seemed alternately detached and stern, Fiennes managed to give him a slight decency. Another actor might have succeeded in turning this character into a complete ogre. Kudos to Fiennes for taking a mediocre role and making it better. Knightly was delightful as the Duchess. Although her character also lacked some credibility, Knightly brought the qualities of beauty, popularity and fashion-sense attributed to this character into full bloom. She made those qualities fully appreciable. Atwell was also excellent as the spoiler in this relationship. Her character is written to be a decent woman in spite of the relationships. Atwell handled the delicate balance with ease. The acting made this movie worthwhile.

There were times when The Duchess seemed slow and boring. There were other times when the rich quality of the sets, the costumes and the locales created a picturesque backdrop that spoke for itself. The dialogue was well constructed and the acting exceptional. If only the story and characters had been more engaging, this film would have been a contender. The weak character development hurt the film, making it solidly mediocre. 6.5/10.

Trailer and images subject to copyright.