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 Wigs, wives & woes!
Grade: B
The Duchess
Indian Release Date: 09/10/09
CBFC Classification: A
Running Length: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Cast: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell
Director: Saul Dibb
Screenplay: Jeffrey Hatcher and Anders Thomas Jensen and Saul Dibb, based on the book Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
Cinematography: Gyula Pados
Music: Rachel Portman
Let's thank our lucky stars that we are not Aristocrats or Royalty, what a life! 'The Duchess' directed by Saul Dibb, is not just pretty frills and corsets, but it is the true story of an extremely unfortunate woman dealing with the restraints of the era and society in which she lived. The movie makers hinted that the story should remind us of the late Princess Diana, with both the Duchess and Diana coming from the same Spencer lineage and both having crowded marriages, hence the movie tag-line - 'There were three people in her marriage'.
Period dramas are not my usual cup of chai, but in fact 'The Duchess' made a lasting impression. One cannot help sympathising with such an ill-fated character and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it even more attention grabbing. The Duchess is played by Keira Knightley and somehow she is not as annoying in this role as she sometimes can be, I think Knightley is very comfortable in a corset and played the role of the Duchess with conviction. New boy Saul Dibb should be proud of his first big wig movie.
Set in the eighteenth century this meaty story begins with Georgiana (Knightley), daughter of the 1st Earl of Spencer being informed that the 5th Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) wants to take her hand in marriage. She is overjoyed, as is her family and there are high expectations on both sides that this will be a very fruitful and successful marriage. And fruitful being the operative word.
It soon becomes clear that the Duke's main expectation is for Georgiana to bare him a son, an heir to be the next Duke of Devonshire. But soon into the marriage Georgiana is bemused to find that her husband would rather spend time with his dogs than talk with her. She also soon realises that he 'befriends' many of the house maids and women of society. On top of this he announces unexpectedly one day that his illegitimate daughter is coming to stay and Georgiana is expected to raise the child as her own.
Georgiana rushes to her mother for help but is advised to turn a blind eye and continue on with her main objective, which is to give the Duke a son on the pretext that life will improve thereafter.
After a few miscarriages and the birth of two girls Georgiana's marriage becomes even more tense. Socially Georgiana is the bell of the ball, her beauty and charm along with her fashion sense make her a very popular public figure and it is proclaimed ''everyone is in love with the Duchess, except the Duke.''
The Duke played by Ralph Fiennes is short tempered and uneasy throughout. Fiennes is very convincing and unlikable and as the movie proceeds we begin to see the horrors of having such a title as his, the pressure to perform, the pressure for an heir.
Georgiana does as best she can in her situation but reaches out for love and friendship. Love comes in the shape of a young politician Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) who seems to be coming up in the world and Georgiana agrees to use her name and fame to help him and his political party. Friendship comes in the form of Lady Bess played by Hayley Atwell, they meet at a party when Lady Bess refuses to dance with the Duke and she and Georgiana immediately hit it off. Lady Bess is also in dire straits as her violent husband has taken her children and is refusing to let her see them. Lady Bess is invited to come and stay with Georgiana until she can work out what to do. Their friendship grows stronger and Lady Bess spots the affection Georgiana has for the young politician Grey.
All bears well until one day on return from a political meeting Georgiana finds the Duke in bed with Lady Bess, this is the last string of the corset for the Duchess but the Duke refuses to have Lady Bess banished from the house. Plus Lady Bess knows that the Duke's power is the only way she can get her children back. So Georgiana proposes a deal, she will allow them their affair if the Duke allows Georgiana to court her young politician Charles Grey. The Duke explodes in a rage and tells her that he does not make deals and she is not permitted to court anyone, her duties to him are loyalty and an heir and until she gives him a son life will be so. Georgiana rushes from the room but the Duke pursues her and in her room he forces himself upon her. Nine months later a son is born.
After the Duchess has fulfilled her duty to the Duke she takes advantage of his slightly lifted mood to ask him if she can go to the city of Bath for some rest and to bathe in the city's healing waters. Both Georgiana and Lady Bess know that the real reason is so that she can spend time with Charles Grey and Lady Bess encourages the Duke to let Georgiana go. He agrees and the Duchess and her young politician spend some wonderful weeks together. That is until the Duke hears rumours of their affair and arrives in Bath with Georgiana's mother. He accuses her of being indiscreet and gives her the ultimatum to either leave this Charles Grey immediately and come home with him or stay with Grey and never see her children again. Georgiana tells the Duke to go back to London without her but after one night of torment she herself returns to the Duke's house and to her children. The Duke is glad to see that she made the right choice.
Charles Grey then arrives in London and bursts into the Duke's home, shouting for Georgiana. Georgiana walks down the stairs and is confronted by her lover begging her to come away with him, saying that they are in love and that they can be happy. Georgiana calmly tells him that she does love him but that she cannot leave her children and he must go. She then returns to the Duke's dinner table and announces that she is pregnant with Charles Grey's baby. I told you it was a meaty story-line.
This time the Duke gives the order that she will retire to the country until the baby is born and then she will hand the baby over to Grey's family. The decision is final. To the surprise of the Duke, Lady Bess insists on staying with Georgiana until the baby is born. There is a heart rendering scene when the time comes to hand over her baby girl to the Grey family. Then Georgiana returns to London where she resumes her life as normal. And there we leave the story.
The Duchess of Devonshire remained with the Duke and Lady Bess until her death. The Duke and Lady Bess married three years after Georgiana's death. Grey went on to marry another and also to become Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Dibb has done a good job especially as the movie was supposed to be directed by Susanne Bier, but perhaps he could have given us more of Georgiana's character, allowed Knightley to really flourish if indeed this is her niché. The real Duchess of Devonshire was totally addicted to gambling and ended her life in debt but in the movie we see very little gambling except a little flutter here and there. Fiennes was also a little same same all the way through and we know what a wonderful actor he is, perhaps Dibb could have given him a little more to chew on. But visually 'The Duchess' is a beauty, vast English estates, huge town palaces, ridiculously long dining tables and of course massive wigs. Pretty much everything people look for in a period drama but just with a little more meat.
Final Verdict: A must see for period drama fans, a once see for everyone else.
Grade: B
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