Breakinger
A Brilliant Conflict
Borgarkeri
A bit overrated, but still an amazing film
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
blanche-2
"The Duchess" from 2008 is the sumptuously-told story of Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire, a direct descendant of Princess Diana.Georgiana (Knightley) becomes the wife of the Duke (Ralph Fiennes) in 1774. It's an arranged marriage, and the Duke is adamant about the fact that he wants a male heir. Beautiful and vivacious, Georgiana is beloved by society though unhappy in her marriage. The sex makes her uncomfortable, mainly because her husband isn't big on communication. Her mother (Charlotte Rampling) assures her that once the heir is born, the sex will be less.Georgiana, however, keeps giving birth to girls, and the Duke and Duchess even take in Charlotte, the Duke's illegitimate daughter, after her mother dies. Georgiana loves her as if she is her own daughter. When Lady Bess (Hayley Atwell) enters the scene, Georgiana is thrilled to have a friend and confidante, until her husband sleeps with Bess and the three are forced to live together. Georgiana then falls madly in love with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) and learns that what's good for the goose isn't so good for the gander, especially when the goose has all the power.Beautiful looking film, with good acting from a top cast, but it moves slowly. One never tires, however, of looking at Knightley in a series of gowns and wigs, ravishing in every scene. The film shows the sad state of women in those times - arranged marriages, blamed if they can't have a boy, forced to tolerate their husbands' affairs, and without power.Georgiana was a woman who was outspoken politically and drew a lot of attention. It is easy to see why she would find her marriage so constraining. While it may have been, she makes the best of it and makes peace with her circumstances. She emerges in the film, thanks to Knightley, as a strong, adaptable, and forgiving woman.It's a lovely story, but it could have moved along a bit faster. If you like costume dramas, you will adore this.
Sushan Konar
Britons might be sorely divided in their desire to be in or out, but there is one topic on which they are forever united - their passion, or rather their obsession with their Royalty. Here's one small indicator. When we rented an apartment in Cambridge, one of the first tasks we had to undertake was to move the huge volume of our landlady's book collection to the garage. More than half of those garage full of books dealt with the Royal family!Of course, the most obsessed over member of that family is undoubtedly Princess Diana. A film, based on the life of her great-great...aunt the Duchess of Devonshire which had an uncanny similarity with Lady D's own life, is bound to generate a lot of interest. Apparently, the trailer of this 2008 movie even used a couple of Lady D shots to ensure that.However, for folks outside the orbit of that royal obsession, this is basically about the life of an aristocratic woman trapped in the social mores of her time, despite all the worldly privileges that came with her rank and status. Unfortunately, the movie could not rise above its curiosity value (even while giving us an excellent glimpse into the English aristocratic life in the eighteenth century) as the events, instead of flowing smoothly, had somewhat of a jerky feel. As if we are given a lesson in history, above all.Keira Knightly, as expected, is a natural in the role of an old-world English Duchess. But Ralph Fiennes is totally wasted in the role of the Duke of Devonshire. Watching this, I wouldn't have believed him emerging with that commanding presence of M in Spectre a few years down the line.
zhongzl-kelley2014
Frankly, I think this movie is all about women suffrage. Georgiana is depicted as a victim of the old time's order, and a martyr that sacrifice her love and happiness to defend her children. This movie originates from a very touchy story, in which one of the participants was the prime minister of England, and I think the director and storyboarding people are not doing everything they can to present it.First of all, Dominic Cooper is hideous-looking. His being an actor is a very encouraging example for young people, telling them that being an actor has nothing to do with one's appearance. His presence sure bereaves the movie of any romantic air it can possibly have. That is why I watched the movie with wistful agony.Good movies convey emotions through the way they shoot them. But I can not detect such techniques in this movie. The camera work was the most tedious and uncreative I've seen in years, therefore when Charles Grey dashed into the house and demanded for Georgiana to elope with him, I felt nothing but pathetic.Elizabeth's actor is that of Agent Carter, whom I admire ardently. Therefore I would love to give them an extra point for her.If it weren't for Keira Knightly's exceeding acting, this movie would've got a 3. I would really call consumer service for its wasting 2 hours of my youth, but I can't since I watched it for free.
cracker
As others note, there was lots of real history going on during this period, yet we are privy to none of it in this movie. We are instead served an endless buffet of "rehashed victimology theme #853" the female audience seems to endlessly crave even after 30-40 years of the same old schlock.The Duke has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and the movie is merely a litany of his oppression of the protagonist. If these "Burning Bed" type movies ever contained more than a Star Wars level of black hat white hat moral ambivalence, discerning viewers would take them more seriously. As it is, they are to be either collectively laughed or yawned at other than in Jr. College Women's Studies departments throughout the land, where I imagine this movie gets lots of play.If you were hoping to learn about a female historical figure, her place in history and accomplishments, this isn't it, just a very stale soapy theme in pretty wrappings. Ladies, will you please tire of this dreck? It's been 40 years of it, how much more do we have to endure?
