The Duchess (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	A truly beautiful film
Disadvantages:	None for me

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

THE DUCHESS

Directed by Saul Dibb

This is a wonderful period drama, that is adapted from Amanda Foreman's biography Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, that tells of the romantic entanglements of Georgiana Cavendish, a beautiful and clever woman who becomes a celebrity of British high society when she marries the Duke of Devonshire and becomes consort to one of the most powerful men in England.
I have not actually read the book so I am not in a position to compare it with the film.

THE PLOT

Georgina Spencer (Keira Knightley) was born and grew up in Althorp, a beautiful young woman from a high class family (is this sounding somewhat familiar?) She became the Duchess of Devonshire at the tender age of 17, when she was married to the Duke of Devonshire in 1774. She was encouraged to accept the Duke's proposal by her mother, Lady Spencer (Charlotte Rampling) The idealistic teenage Georgina, expected to find love in her marriage, but the Duke's sole reason for the marriage was to produce a male heir, he had more affection for his dogs than his wife.

As the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana was one of the most celebrated women in London. She was watched to see what she wore, how she spoke and whom she associated with (sounding even more familiar now).

Unfortunately, Georgina's marriage to the older William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire, (portrayed by Ralph Fiennes), was one of political machination, incompatible personalities and mutual infidelity. It is very easy to compare Georgiana, and her great, great, great grand niece, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Married to a man not interested in her except as a means of producing a male heir, she first has to raise his bastard daughter, which she does as if she were her own. Georgina (or Gee as her husband called her) tried her best to be a good wife, but disappoints the Duke when she fails to bear him a son - twice; she even has to endure marital rape.
However, when Cavendish makes her only friend, Lady Elizabeth Foster (Hayley Atwell) his mistress she feels betrayed at every turn.
Georgina and Bess do become friends again, she and her three sons were welcomed into Georgina's household, and the two women even referred to William as 'our husband'.

Georgina becomes reacquainted with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), who had been someone she had admired in her younger years.
They start a passionate romance, and she learns what love and sexual gratification are.
However everything comes plummeting down as she is forced to choose between obligation, family and love.

THE CHARACTERS

Georgina Spencer (Keira Knightley)

We know from history that Georgina was mature in managing matters of the royal court, was not afraid to speak her mind and loved showing off the clothes she had made. She was a woman of wit and taste, struggling with a period of time when her rights were nonexistent. Although she was far more laudable than her husband, she was none the less discounted and maligned. She used her substantial celebrity status to achieve political change, helping the progressive Whig party over take the status quo of the Tory party, yet she was not allowed a vote. The more distasteful aspects of her life also helped keep her in the public eye; Sheridan modelled a key character in 'School for Scandal 'on her. Her wayward life made her an object of interest long after her death.
In the film, Keira Knightley gives an astounding performance, changing from a vivacious young girl to a weary but unabashed woman who puts up with domination and emotional abuse that would have been fatal to most. She is excellent, delivering several stinging lines very well and, naturally, looks wonderful in the incredible clothes she wears so well.

William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes)

Ralph Fiennes is wonderful as the cold, apathetic, fabulously wealthy and powerful 5th Duke of Devonshire. He was one one of the richest men in England; next to the King, the Duke was the most powerful man, but he was also a cold, dull man who showed more affection for his dogs than he did for his new bride. His one goal in life was to father a male heir.

Fiennes plays the Duke, rigid in posture as in thought. He portrays a figure from a world we can hardly imagine in this democratic age. The Duke is a man of remarkably few words, but Fiennes makes every one of them count as he does with his silent stares.
In his creepy, heartless way, Fiennes does somehoiw convey a hint of sympathy and remorse in his later scenes that I found in some way more touching than the suffering of his wife.

To be honest, I found myself rather drawn to the Duke; not that he is charming, engaging, likable or anything like that, But Fiennes made the character seem rather fascinating; he wasn't really an evil man, he was simply a man completely of his time, a wealthy man born to privilege and so used to the role that he's ignorant (or cares little) to the pain he puts others under.

Lady Spencer (Charlotte Rampling)

The chilly Lady Spencer was a manipulative builder of dynasties.
She and Cavendish negotiated the hand of her seventeen-year-old daughter Georgiana as if they were two breeders of prize livestock.
Ms Rampling acts out the part of the witch like, manipulating mother well.

Lady Elizabeth Foster (Hayley Atwell)

Lady Elizabeth 'Bess' Foster and Georgina become fast friends. When Georgina hears of the beatings Bess has to take from her abusive husband, Georgiana convinces the Duke that her friend and her three sons move into their l home. This didn't turn out to be such a good idea. An open affair begins and a humiliated Georgiana begins drinking and gambling.

In fact, history tells us that Bess and the Devonshires lived in a menage a trois for 25 years. At one point, both women were pregnant by the Duke - and both produced daughters.
Bess, had actually only betrayed her friend in order to retain possession of her own children. There was only Cavendish who could overpower her husband and stop him taking the children. Later Bess secretly conspires to have Georgina take on her own lover, Charles Grey, a friend from the past who is now a fiery Whig candidate.
Hayley Atwell played the part in a bewitching fashion, anod made the character incredibly likeable and sympathetic, I found it hard to dislike even though it seems she has betrayed her best friend . But she, too, was trapped by circumstance and her love for Georgiana did shine through.

Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper)

Historically Charles Grey was the second Earl Grey (yes the tea bloke!!), He ended up as Prime Minister and was instrumental in bringing in the Reform Act but despite what he achieved in the nineteenth century, his career almost ended because he and Georgina had an illegitimate child.
Dominic Cooper to me seemed a little weak in his part, and somehow seemed too 21st century, I suppose that could have been intentional to show that the Earl wanted to reform what he saw as an outdated society, or perhaps he just wasn't up to the part!!

WHAT DID I THINK?

The first thing I should comment on is that I think that the rating for this film was very strange, rated a 12,I think that it should have been a 15 as there is a lot of explicit sexual behaviour in it.

This film is such a very tragic story set within unqualified beauty. The settings and costumes of this film were the real stars in my opinion, absolutely stunning, you felt as if you were in the middle of a Gainsborough painting!

The acting was good, I thought that Ralph Fiennes played the Duke remarkably well - the character could well have turned out so wrong in different hands.
I found that this film was far more than a 'bodice-ripper', it was far more emotional and challenging than I ever thought it would be.

Despite the fantastic clothes, the incredible wigs (and Whigs!), incredible settings and decent acting, what struck me as the most powerful thing in this film was the Georgian social politics and the way we were shown how women were totally ignored and abused consistently. To the Georgian man, women were either wives to bring up children or whores.
I am glad that I was not around in that period; it certainly wasn't a good time to be a woman. Wife beating was normal and marital rape an everyday occurrence, there was also a total disregard for women's feelings. However, Georgiana, with wit and charm, managed to carve a niche for herself in that one-sided society and, despite her domestic sadness, managed to construct a kind of happiness for herself by the end of her life.

One thing that disappointed me was that the film hardly touched on Georgina's intellectual and political interests, and her less gracious antics - the affairs, drugs gambling, debts and alcohol are mostly left out.

The beautiful costumes won an Academy Award and the buildings used for shooting (including Chatsworth House where Georgiana lived with the Duke) are awe-inspiring. The photography is very atmospheric; there is a wide usage of golden candlelight and plenty of natural sunlight. This is a wonderful period drama with a spellbinding true story, superb acting and beautiful to watch.

Despite denials that the film dwelt on the similarities between Georgina and Diana (though how they could make such denials when they advertise the film with the line "There were three people in her marriage.") the similarities between the Charles and Diana story and Georgina's are evident. Born Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess was an ancestor of the late Princess Diana, who was born Diana Spencer and Althorpe was the ancestral home of both women.
Georgiana, like Diana, was a much loved and talked about fashion icon, both were married young to older men and both Diana and Georgina were trapped in loveless marriages, adored by the public and yet couldn't find love.

DVD

The picture quality of the DVD is superb, very clear and sharp. The sound is perfect,
I do not usually take much notice of the extra features of DVD's but I would really recommend watching "Georgiana in Her Own Words". This is a 7-minute feature with the author Amanda Foreman and producer Gabrielle Tana that looks at the Duchess' actual letters, which Foreman used in writing her biography.

"How Far She Went ...Making The Duchess" is a 22 ¾-minute documentary detailing the production of the movie. Director, cast, and crewmembers discuss the story of the real Georgiana.

The Costume Diary features costume designer Michael O'Connor discussing his work on Keira Knightley's elaborate wardrobe. This feature runs 5 ½ minutes. and is very interesting..

The disc contains previews for Revolutionary Road, Ghost Town, Eagle Eye, American Teen, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

· Format: PAL
· Language English
· Subtitles: English
· Region: Region Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
· Number of discs: 1
· Classification: 12
· Studio: Pathe Video
· DVD Release Date: 16 Mar 2009
· Run Time: 105 minutes

A historically interesting as well as a beautifully filmed piece.