The Duchess (2008)

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.

Director:

Saul Dibb

Writers:

Jeffrey Hatcher (screenplay), Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay),

Stars:

Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keira Knightley	...	Georgiana
Ralph Fiennes	...	The Duke
Charlotte Rampling	...	Lady Spencer
Dominic Cooper	...	Charles Grey
Hayley Atwell	...	Bess Foster
Simon McBurney	...	Charles Fox
Aidan McArdle	...	Richard Sheridan
John Shrapnel	...	General Grey
Alistair Petrie	...	Heaton
Patrick Godfrey	...	Dr. Neville
Michael Medwin	...	Speechmaker
Justin Edwards	...	Macaroni
Richard McCabe	...	Sir James Hare
Calvin Dean	...	Devonshire House Servant
Hannah Stokely	...	Devonshire House Maid

Storyline

Georgiana Spencer became Duchess of Devonshire on her marriage to the Duke in 1774, at the height of the Georgian period, a period of fashion, decadence, and political change. Spirited and adored by the public at large she quickly found her marriage to be a disappointment, defined by her duty to produce a male heir and the Duke's philandering and callous indifference to her. She befriends Lady Bess but finds she is once again betrayed by her husband who wields his power with the three eventually living uncomfortably together. Against this background, and with the pressures of an unfaithful husband, strict social pressures and constant public scrutiny, Georgiana falls passionately in love with Charles Grey, a rising young Whig politician. However, despite his ongoing liaison with Lady Bess, the Duke refuses to allow her to continue the affair and threatens to take her children from her.

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Plot Keywords:

duke | marriage | heir | duchess | fashion | 

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Taglines:

There were three people in her marriage

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity and thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

UK Italy France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

La duquesa

Filming Locations:

Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£13,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$190,426 (USA) (19 September 2008)

Gross:

$13,823,741 (USA) (5 December 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Vantage, Pathé, BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the background of the location used for Georgiana and Charles Grey's first kiss is the building used in Pride & Prejudice (also starring Keira Knightley) for Mr. Darcy's first proposal.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film when Georgiana is talking with her mother about her engagement, the curl running down the back of Georgiana's neck disappears and reappears multiple times.

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Quotes

Duke of Devonshire: I know that you've never thought much of my manners or my itellect, G. But in fact, I never do anything that serves no purpose.

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Connections

Featured in The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Affettuoso from Trio Sonata in A Minor"
Written by Georg Philipp Telemann
Arranged by Rick Wentworth

User Reviews

All I wanted from this film and more

Okay, so let's put this in context, if you don't like period dramas, don't go and see this movie, you probably won't like it, and it is NOT Diana's story, nothing like although some in the marketing department thought so ...

But i love this film, having being dying to see it since the first teaser trailer. I love everything about it the costumes, the characters, the acting, the whole package.

Keira Knightley in a corset again, but then i think these are roles she is good at, this role required her to have this real sense of melancholy to her and she did it beautifully.

Ralph Fiennes is funny, repulsive and endearing in his role as the duke you feel one thing for him and then another, you can't write this guy off as anything in particular. All i know is that i wouldn't want to be married to him.

I hope that both Knightley and Fiennes get their second and third Oscar nominations for this respectively, as they are well made parts.

As for the others:

Dominic Cooper, is lovely as Grey if perhaps a little underused, Hayley Atwell's character is again one you want to hate but really can't, and Rampling is great as the mother.

All in all a great period flick, i say 10/10, but if i wasn't so into this kind of thing i'd probably still rate it quite highly, it is a fine piece of film-making.