The trailer of The Duchess, a lavish new period piece starring Keira Knightley, says that film is about “an ordinary woman [who] married into power, and captivated a nation,” and that it is “based on the incredible true story of Georgiana Spencer.”
Wait – Georgiana Spencer?I beg your pardon while I digress, indeed, but if the trailer hadn’t established it so I should’ve guessed I was watching an anachronistic retelling of the life and times of Diana Spencer. After all, as the trailer adds, “She was loved by the people. She was feared by the powerful. But she was bound by tradition.”
And, hold the phone, while I’m off topic, do the English consider films such as The Duchess period pieces or historical dramas? (That thought occurred to me as I watched the film’s opening scenes, which I found were going for a vibe á la Marie Antoinette…but wisely pursued one all their own.)
Alright, alright – back to the subject at hand.
Knightley stars as the young noblewoman (Diana’s great-great-great-great-aunt) who would become the Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, upon marrying William Cavendish, the fifth Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), in 1774 when she was 17 and he was 26.
G, as the duke calls her in the film based on Amanda Foreman's biography Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, was beautiful, compassionate, fashionable, influential, and widely admired. Alas, she also was terribly unhappy, trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage, one side of a triangle with her husband and her BFF-cum-his live-in mistress (Hayley Atwell).
Unable to provide one of the two things expected of her – a male heir – Georgiana opted to stop providing that which she could – loyalty – and pursue her own interest, a passionate love affair with an ambitious young politician played by Mamma Mia!’s Dominic Cooper.
G’s decision would cause conflict with her husband, in spite of the fact that he’s “the only man not in love with his wife,” and threaten not only to result in scandal but in a situation she could not bear.
Such was life this royal’s life in the late 18th century, a cautionary family tale filled with drama, unfulfilled potential, and woe.
The Duchess captures this exquisitely, but it isn’t something we haven’t seen already.
My Rating **1/2
Photo: Moviefone.com.
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