1 post tagged “the duchess”
The Duchess
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I was plenty excited to see The Duchess, even despite the ubiquitous, bony presence of Keira Knightly (whom I like in a guilty pleasure capacity at best). I am obsessed with period pieces, especially of the late-eighteenth century variety. This one had a lot to offer in the way of indulgent escapism: gorgeous costumes (probably a shoe-in for the Academy Award in that category, like Marie Antoinette before it), lavish sets, aristocrats enmeshed in their sublimely complicated and constricting ettiquette while engaging in political, social, and sexual intrigue. I knew that it's title character, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, was a close personal friend of two of my favorite figures from the era, Marie Antoinette and her own favorite, the Duchesse de Polignac, and I therefore expected a delightful, fun-filled romp akin to the aforementioned Marie Antoinette, bursting with decadence and gaiety and over-indulgence, tempered with measured doses of reality and humanity. Alas, in this respect I was to be disappointed.
A fun-filled romp it was not, instead taking a decidedly more serious tone that I am sure was meant to be poignant and profound but came off (to me, at least) as dreary and depressing. It was too obvious in its Oscar aspirations, although Knightly's performance is admittedly her best to date and, depending on her competition, may well get a Best Actress nomination. In the way of Oscar-hopefuls, the story is a tragic one: Georgiana, at a very tender age, catches the eye of the wealthy and powerful Duke of Devonshire (played by the always incredible Ralph Fiennes, delightful as ever in a snobby, hatred-inspiring role) and is wedded to him after only a few brief encounters. Thus she is thrown into a marriage devoid not only of love, but of caring, compassion, or even humanity. The Duke makes it quite clear that she exists only to produce him an heir, a feat which she finds exceedingly difficult, while tolerating all of his licentious affairs, a feat which she finds nearly unbearable when he makes her closest friend, Lady Elizabeth Foster (played by Hayley Atwell, a prettily plump relief from Knightly's skeletal figure), his live-in mistress. To cope, Georgiana throws herself into her passions for gambling, fashion, and politics. Her political doings include future Prime Minister Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper, who performed admirably but I could have gone for better eye candy), and therein lies her husband's ridiculously hypocritical contention and the cause of all her proceeding misfortune.
It wasn't bad by any means, and it did have the power to move me emotionally, even after I left the theatre, which is impressive even if what it moved me to was a mild yet permeating sense of dis-ease that was only alleviated by watching a more uplifting film at home. I was intrigued to discover that Georgiana was an ancestor of Princess Diana; one can draw all sorts of interesting parallels between the lives and trials of the two English it-girls. All in all, the film did what it set out to accomplish, which was to give a sympathetic and sometimes captivating portrayal of a historical figure little-know in today's popular culture. Hopefully it will help to further immortalize the iconic aristocrat, and it will almost definitely have an even more desirable effect, as far as I'm concerned, in spawning ever more big-budget, opulent period piece escapisms.
