The original "it girl"

Rating: 9/10 (31 October 2015)

I thoroughly enjoyed this period drama. Keira Knightley's performance is brilliant, the costumes (her extreme hair) and sets are gorgeous, the true (ish) story involving and Ralph Fiennes is perfect as Georgina's callus, indifferent husband.
This really is Keira Knightley's movie though and she does a fantastic job capturing the charm, intrigue, frustration and (often) scandalous exploits of Georgina Spencer, the duchess of Devonshire in 18th century England.
"G" was the original "it girl" with uncanny parallels to her direct descendant Princess Diana. She was glamorous, popular and adored by an entire country but also haunted by the fact that the only man in England she could not seduce was her very own husband, the Duke. When she tried to find her own way the resulting controversies and liaisons left all of London talking.
I especially liked the multilayered take we get from all the characters here. Ralph Fiennes wasn't just the "evil husband", he was a man of his times, giving a complex and sympathetic edge to his character.
I wasn't overly impressed with Dominic Cooper as Charles Grey, a flat forgettable sort, for such a heart wrenching love affair. I did like the introduction of Bess Foster as the other woman or other wife as the case may be and definitely felt G's frustration as her husband continued his adulterous liaison right in front of her while at the same time refusing to allow her to have her own, threatening to take the children.
What an involving soap opera-ish storyline with the servants standing and listening in to all the arguments and scandal, forgotten by the players like they aren't even there. 10/12/15