Come for Princess Di, stay for Georgiana

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2008)

Java Man Reviews "The Duchess" (Rated PG-13). Directed by Saul Dibb. Written by Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen and Dibb, based on the book by Amanda Foreman. Starring Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, Simon McBurney and Aiden McArdle. Originally appeared in LakewoodBuzz.com November, 2008.
OVERVIEW:
As the movie opens, 17-year-old Georgiana Spenser (Knightley) is playfully teasing Charles Grey (Cooper), the budding politician who is smitten with her and remains so for the rest of the film. In the meantime, her status-conscious mother (Rampling) is arranging her marriage to William Cavendish, The Duke of Devonshire (Fiennes), a boorish nabob whose only obsessions are his dogs and his desire to produce a male heir. Once married, the young Duchess is treated like chattel and only receives husbandly attention as it relates to acquiring a son. Nevertheless, her irrepressible spirit and inherent wit propel her to notoriety among London's liberal elite. She supports the American and French Revolutions and is an ardent campaigner for Whig politicians such as future Prime Minister Charles Fox (McBurney). She also turns out to be a gifted fashion designer, one who wears dresses today that others will wear tomorrow. But she lives in an age where women have few rights, and this sets the stage for the kinds of conflicts that are a playwright's delight.
REVIEW: 3 out of 4 Java Mugs
From a leather-clad warrior-queen in King Arthur to a skinny soccer star in Bend it Like Beckham, Keira Knightley has dazzled her way through centuries of British history. And she is only 23. With her recent period pieces Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, one might declare: "Oh no, not another costumer with Keira!"
But this one is different (and just as good), because the compelling story involves real people, including the title character who is an ancestor of Diana Spenser, the late Princess of Wales. In fact, the plight of the 18th century Georgiana echoes that of 20th century Diana: a young girl marries a much older blue-blood with disastrous results. And, remember that play you read in English class, The School for Scandal? The marriage satirized by Richard Brinsley Sheridan is that of his contemporaries, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
The casting is dead-on. In addition to Knightley, who is near-perfect, Atwell is beguiling as the Duke's "other wife," while Fiennes manages to maintain interest in a character with few redeeming qualities. The supporting roles provide additional richness, including Rampling's ambitious matron, McBurney's insinuating Fox, and McArdle's subversive Sheridan. Least satisfying is Cooper as Earl Grey, the future Prime Minister (who had a tea named after him). Inspired costuming along with Britain's best castles and estates are put to good use to take the audience back in time.
Princess Diana may bring in the audiences, but they will stay for Georgiana.