Late 18th century English noblewoman biopic

Rating: 6/10 (21 January 2019)

Keira Knightly gives a reliably apposite performance in this costume drama, playing the Duchess of Devonshire with the charm and grace that made Georgiana Spencer so captivating, struggling in a loveless marriage, having to contend with her repression and loneliness. While the story chronicles the Duchess's life with vibrancy to show her hampered by the constraints of a rigid society, it struggles to overcome a lack of perspective.
Nevertheless, it is a handsome historical film, impeccably mounted, costumed, wigged and with striking locations and beautifully photographed and staged.