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

Susanne Bier wrote an early draft of the script and was originally attached to direct the film.

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Goofs

In the last scene with the kids running around the fountain. Fountains have been created for hundreds of years running on gravity, not electricity. For example, the Trevi fountain in Rome was completed in 1762, and the Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth was completed by Joseph Paxton in 1844.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: All my life, I've been fighting my way upstream.

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Connections

Referenced in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

"German Dance No. 10 in D Major from Twelve German Dances"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranged by Rick Wentworth

User Reviews

ignore the critics, the duchess is spellbinding

After reading copious amounts of mediocre reviews for "The duchess", I wasn't expecting much from this film. However, from the first scene I was utterly absorbed.

The film isn't "just another period drama", it is an absolutely beautiful and heart-rendering tale of the tribulations faced by Georgian woman. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who although is the key character in the film (as you can probably infer from the title), represents the situation of all woman belonging to a patriarchal society, not just the aristocracy.

Keira knightly is exemplary in this role. Her facial expression tells more than a script ever could. I enjoyed her performance in "atonement" but this was in a whole new league. There has always been this underlying snobbery and dislike for Keira Knightly's work in the media which I have never understood nor care to. Only her performance should be criticized, not who she is in reality, and this performance was flawless. Ralph Fiennes was also excellent. My best advice is to ignore the critics and come to your own conclusion. My only negative criticism was the rapidity with which Georgiana bonded so intimately with Bess. However, I don't know enough about the social context of the time to really make a judgement.

All in all, a deeply moving tale that shouldn't be neglected.