Film Review

Title: The Duchess

Director: Saul Dibb

Cast: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell

Genre: Historical Drama

Runtime: 110 min.

Rated: PG - 13

Released: September 19^th 2008 

Reviewed By: Gabor Pertic (Toronto Correspondent - Canada)

Everything you expect from an 18^th century costume drama is present in The Duchess. Stunning sets, a sweeping score, a blatant divide between classes and sexes, and of course, the costumes. All the traditional pieces are here and, as expected, all offer a pretty package. But it is the performances of Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes that elevate the movie from conventional period drama to a very emotional human drama.

The movie is based on a true story and has Knightley playing Georgiana, a young girl chosen to become the Duchess of Devonshire. She is signed off to marry the Duke (Fiennes), who is in need of an heir. Georgiana’s mother (played with poise and grace by Charlotte Rampling) assures the Duke that Georgiana will not disappoint and surely bring him a son; but history is a drama after all, and things do not go so smoothly.

The first half of the film focuses on Georgiana’s rise to supreme celebrity status. Director Saul Dibb makes an effort to parallel fame in the late 1700’s with modern day star culture. Georgiana’s carriage is stalked by curious citizens trying to get a peak at the new Duchess. Even 18^th Century paparazzi are present to sketch Her Grace in her latest fashions. Georgiana becomes an ‘It Girl’ of the highest degree.

As the cult of celebrity goes, there is way more going on behind the pretty photographs (or in this case, sketches). Fiennes’ Duke is a cold, unsentimental man who is mostly intent on having a son to take his place and play with his two dogs. Georgiana is quickly objectified as a means to an end and not much more. The chemistry between the two actors works to showcase the lack of chemistry between the Duke and the Duchess.

Knightley and Fiennes play incredibly well opposite each other. Early on in the film, Fiennes comments on the outlandish dresses that women wear and Knightley replies that it is merely a way for women to express themselves. Thankfully, the film allows Knightley to express herself in a myriad of ways. A quick shot picks up the marks that Georgiana’s corset leaves on her back and, throughout the film, Knightley becomes a physical embodiment of a girl who is constantly pressed upon her entire life. Knightley offers a strong balance of youthful passion and regal professionalism. The more she is broken down, the more she needs to fight against it. She never has room to breathe and Knightley really makes you root for Georgiana to get even a slight chance at a decent exhale.

Fiennes, on the other hand, plays the Duke with an effortless freedom. When jarring political speeches bore him at the dinner table, he gets up and leaves. When his mutton does not taste quite right, he sends it away. Fiennes makes a great choice by not playing the Duke as an evil man, but as a product of the culture and power that surrounds him. Sure, he is the meant to be the main antagonist, but Fiennes is not lumbering through the movie as the big, bad wolf. His quiet, seemingly uncomplicated demeanor makes it all the more terrifying in moments when he snaps and loses his edge.

Dibb’s direction hits the essentials of the costume drama and does not veer off into uncharted territory. The movie looks and sounds like it should. It is structured in timing so that months go by from one moment to the next, offering a general highlight reel of Georgiana’s first few years as the Duchess (although highlights may not be the right word, instead various moments of a fleeting hope of freedom). The conventions work and Dibb realizes that. He is fortunate to have the pairing of Knightley and Fiennes to strengthen the film’s safe story-telling method.

The Duchess is a film that balances out beautiful visuals with the morose undercurrent of noble life. Even the scenes where Georgiana gets what she wants, you can’t help but feel as though this joyful moment is about to be taken away from her. Knightley bears the marks on her back but she makes the audience feel the ache along with her and that is precisely what makes The Duchess an exhaustingly moving film.