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The Duchess
Duchess is the "based on a true story" life of Lady Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightly) who becomes, at 17, the Duchess of Devonshire by marrying a cold remote man about 30 years her senior. His only interest is to obtain a male heir. She is pushed into the marriage by her ice cold mother. Naively, "G" believes that the duke loves her.
Georgiana has only daughters which infuriates her husband and drives him further away from her while all along, he has had other mistresses and has daughters and sons by them. The duke (Ralph Fiennes) soon turns Georgiana's only friend who is living with them into his new mistress. Georgiana must live under the same roof with her husband and his mistress and their bastard sons and raise his illegitimate daughter (whom she comes to love as one of her own). She tries to rebel and falls in love with a man she'd known as a girl. But this is not to be tolerated. Her mother and the duke cruelly suppress her.
Duchess is a painful portrait of the cruel double standard women faced in the 18th and 19th centuries and of the fact that an aristocratic woman's only value then was to produce sons.
Fiennes does well as the heartless and cold duke who loves only his dogs. Knightly is good but not great as the duchess. She seems to do a lot of facial and body poses to try to exhibit her pain, determination and whatever else is needed. Very good but not great acting on her part.
Rent it if you don't want to go to the theatre to see it. May take some months for it to appear on DVD.
My take on the Duchess
asw — Thu, 10/16/2008 - 04:01The Duchess
Just one day before her 17th Birthday Georgiana Spencer ( Keira Knightley), is married to William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. In the movie, "The Duchess" the duke is portrayed as a much older man, by Ralph Fiennes. In real life he would be only approximately 25 1/2 years old when he marries.
Not over he top by today's standards. Married on the promise of loyalty and her ability to produce a male heir the marriage seems to be one of convenience, certainly portrayed as one sided with all the power going to the men. Women are treated a chattel and are note afforded the openness of affairs as the men take on mistresses. She loves him and like a love struck teenager thinks that love is to be returned.
Several miscarriages, 2 girls later into this loveless relationship comes a friend and later a lover, Lady Elizabeth Foster who in real life becomes a part of a Ménage à trois with this couple and in later life after the death of Georgiana will become the next Duchess of Devonshire. It is not until 16 years after the marriage at age of 33 does the Duchess have a son by the Duke, William George Spencer Cavendish, later to be 6th Duke of Devonshire.
Scandal comes with an affair with Charles Grey in his young days after just being elected to Parliament. The scandal may unseat the young politician and cause great discomfort and the lost of her children. The affair seems reasonable considering the situation but I'll leave that to your judgment after seeing it unfold on screen.
The Duke as played by Ralph Fiennes is mostly a composite character, rooted in fact and the "type" of person that the Duke would have mostly been but aged and made to be as distant and loveless as possible. There is a line where he claims to love her, " As I understand love to be". With both the Duke and the Duchess looking for love outside the marriage and now with a live in mistress that in all reality is both sharing a bed with the Duke, and one with the Duchess. I would bet in real life with both as well. Most likely both were pleasure seeking people in real life. With the Duchess a socialite and having one of the fashionable Salons of the day, and politically active ( a rarity in her time for a woman) a case can be made or this.
Keira Knightley works hard to show as much emotion as possible in all the different situations she is forced into during this period of her youth. Most of the story will take place in her time frame from the Age of 17 to 33. You can now understand the urgency to produce a male heir. By time William is born , the Duke will be 42. In this era with an average life expectancy in the low 40's with modern medicine still generations away we can understand his dilemma. Additionally, it will be another 115 years before Stevens and Wilson would first publish any information on sex determination. The Duke never never knew it was "His" fault they didn't have male children!
Watching this on the cusp or the Industrial revolution that starts in his sons time, the time of Dickens and the stark differences in lifestyles of the rich and poor, I hardly have any empathy for their lives. Pampered and privileged we see this in today's society and like voyeurs, watch it unfold in reality TV.
Shot on location in several of the actual estates, with beautiful sets, costumes, a good plot line taken from history, and good performances from the principals, I have to recommend it. Then I happen to like both Fiennes and Knightley.
-Al