Knightley Soars, Fiennes Shines

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2008)

Where did they dig up this one? I found the film delightful. I am not one for costume dramas so this was very surprising and opened many doors.
Some people complain about the historical errors. Who cares? Films are made to entertain.
Keira Knightley performed beautifully as the naive and grand Duchess of Devonshire. She executed her lines perfectly aside from a certain "What's wrong with me?" which could have had a little more emotion.
Ralph Fiennes was amazing. Being a dedicated watcher of "Harry Potter" I certainly wasn't disappointed. His hypocritical, egotistical and sex crazed 'Duke of Devonshire" ranked in evil right up there with Lord Voldermort. He was my favorite character, portraying an "evil and inhumane" character when at the end, shows a little humanity.
Dominic Cooper played a serious role, which worked for him, for once. He played Georgiana's lover in an extremely explicit way. He was wonderful. Good to look at, good to listen to.
A couple of things I want to point out.
Although this movie is PG 13 (or M in some cases), it is all to do with sex, rape, politics, alcohol and gambling. So before you rush your children to the cinema, thinking that this will be a wonderful historical experience for them, consider the explicit sex scenes.
A wonderful watch and an even better read.