The Duchess

Fans of period pieces, Kiera Kneightly or Ralph Fiennes, or all three would be extremely happy with The Duchess. Based on the book written by Amanda Foreman, The Duchess tells the story of Georgiana Spenser (three guess who her famous descendant is), the Duchess of Devonshire. She is married off at the tender age of 16 to the significantly older Duke of Devonshire, one of the most powerful men in the England whose singular desire from their marriage is to have a male heir. Unfortunately she is unable to provide one. Desperately unhappy, she uses her increasing popularity to dabble in politics and is a leading light in fashion. Their marriage becomes even more strained and unhappy, when the Georgiana unwittingly installs the woman who would become the Duke’s mistress in their home. And if that weren’t complicated enough, she herself soon embarks on a torrid affair with Charles Grey, who later becomes Prime Minister (and some say, the Grey in Earl Grey Tea). Whew.

This is clearly a lavish production. It is one gorgeous scenery after another, from the opening scene we first see Georgiana as a carefree teenager to the imposing grounds of Devonshire where she comes to live during her marriage. The costumes are all lavish and the hairpieces even more so. It could so easily have been a movie where its production values overwhelm the movie itself. Happily in this case, the actors are all able to overcome such lavishness and turn in genuinely fine performances. Kiera is in fine form here (and I dare say, appears less bony and angled than in her other films) and her performance is spirited yet shows the desperate sadness that shadowed much of the Duchess life. Ralph Fiennes turns in an even more masterful performance as the chilly and boorish Duke. What is incredible about his performance is the smidgen of sympathy he elicits from the audience, when we normally shouldn’t feel an iota of it for a rather loathsome character. I don't know how he does it, but you see from the cracks in Fienne’s features and from his nuanced performance, a person who is the way he is because of the way he has been brought up. And he is unable to be otherwise. It is really heartbreaking to watch as two such dissimilar people wreak such havoc on the other. Watch out for that scene where the Duke marvels at how free the children are. Special mention should be made of Hayley Atwell, whose abundant charms at least provide a credible reason for the Duke’s inability to sacrifice her for the gorgeous creature that is Georgiana.
One thing that this movie tries to highlight is the absence of power on the part of women during these times. And how truly restricted they were by the duties imposed on them by society. Scoff now as we do at the idea of women having the duty to bear children, especially male ones if one had a title or two to safeguard, back in those days, it was very much the be all and end all for women. How sad then to think that special and spirited women like Georgiana had to resort to using their fashion based clout to bring about events. And isn’t it ironic that Georgiana’s almost uncanny ability to use publicity foreshadowed so fittingly the Lady Di’s own incredible mastery over both the press and public? While Georgiana may have been forced to accede to her more noble husband’s wishes, her descendant certainly outmaneuvered hers when the time came.