A Duquesa

a beautiful film. not great or remarkable. only beautiful. for costumes and correct acting. for the light to dark rooms of period. for the flavor of Anna Karenina. and for the atmosphere before the storm. a movie like a jewel from 18 century. more complex than a nice adaptation of a book, almost fascinating for the science of Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes to explore theirs roles possibilities, special for performance of Charlotte Rampling and for the air of portrait of a life. a movie like a drop of perfume. noble, seductive, charming. and a different tool for discover the past in a profound way.that is all. a beautiful film about a special universe and remarkable force of a woman to be herself .

It's 1774 England. Georgiana (Keira Knightley) is arranged by her mother Lady Spencer (Charlotte Rampling) to marry the older Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish (Ralph Fiennes). She is eager for high society but finds him personally cold. He brings in a girl who is probably his bastard child. He is bitter that Georgiana delivers him a girl. She becomes a popular figure. She befriends Lady Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell) who is desperate to get back her children from her abusive husband. The Duke starts an affair with Bess in a long line of many mistresses and he is able to get her back her children. Georgiana starts her own affair with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper).

This is a solid costume drama anchored by a powerful performance from Knightley. The other cast members also deliver led by Fiennes. He is a layered villain and a real human being. Atwell is also great as her character is caught up in an impossible situation. This is a slow deliberate burn. The beauty of the costumes hide an ugliness underneath it all.

After reading copious amounts of mediocre reviews for "The duchess", I wasn't expecting much from this film. However, from the first scene I was utterly absorbed.

The film isn't "just another period drama", it is an absolutely beautiful and heart-rendering tale of the tribulations faced by Georgian woman. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who although is the key character in the film (as you can probably infer from the title), represents the situation of all woman belonging to a patriarchal society, not just the aristocracy.

Keira knightly is exemplary in this role. Her facial expression tells more than a script ever could. I enjoyed her performance in "atonement" but this was in a whole new league. Ralph Fiennes was also excellent. My best advice is to ignore the critics and come to your own conclusion. My only negative criticism was the rapidity with which Georgiana bonded so intimately with Bess. However, I don't know enough about the social context of the time to really make a judgement.

All in all, a deeply moving tale that shouldn't be neglected.

This is one of my favourite films of all time. Keira Knightley is superb in this role. Although it may not be wholly accurate, this film clearly shows how badly women (even those of high birth) were treated by men and society. The costumes and settings are delicious. Love love love!

The Duchess - Set at the end of the eighteenth century, The Duchess is based on the life of Georgiana Cavendish (Kiera Knightley), Duchess of Devonshire. The film delves into Georgiana's passionate and doomed affair with Earl Grey, the future Prime Minister, and the complex love triangle with her husband (Ralph Fiennes) and Georgiana's best friend, Lady Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell).

Kiera Knightley again does a period piece and again looks mostly out of place. She's British alright, but a few stone away from looking like she belongs in 1770's Britain. It's augmented by the fact that her character, based on a real woman, was supposed to have gone through about 6 pregnancies, 4 of them successful. Knightley's emaciated form is just wrong. What is right though, is her performance. As a mother, as a chasismatic political presence and a woman desperate for a happy life she nails it absolutely.

I could have seen a little less focus on the love triangle and a little more on the "hows" and "whys" of this woman becoming such an important and popular cultural icon in British society. The film glosses over how this came to be, and asks us to take it as a fact after one brief scene showing the Duchess's political shrewdness. It's another case of Hollywood ignoring what's different about a film, preferring the safety of delivering what people have seen before.

Fiennes gives such a quiet performance right from the start but it grows and fills the area. It's often a mesmerizing performance because of his rigid adherence to societies expectations and rules at the cost of all else. Fiennes occupies the screen whenever he's in a scene. When he and the Duchess argue, she's like water smashing up against the unyielding cliff. Ralph Fiennes is aw-inspiringly scary in one scene without seeming in anyway over the top or demonizing of what his character represents. Ultimately his character is human and believable; purely a man of his times. His character is so down to earth and in the end simple. All he wanted from his marriage was a son and to be left alone to play with his dogs.

A mesmerizing turn from Fiennes in a likable, if familiar film, The Duchess gets a B+