Film Reviews

The Duchess

• Rating:
• Director: Saul Dibb
• Starring: Dominic Cooper
• Details: US / 112mins (12A).

In 1774 Georgiana Cavendish (Knightley) marries the sullen Duke Of Devonshire (Fiennes) with the sole purpose of providing him a male heir. The Duke, angered at his wife's inability to fulfil her wifely duties - she gives him two daughters - embarks on an affair with Georgiana's only friend Bess (Atwell), an open secret in their stately home. While putting up with that daily humiliation, Georgiana indulges in a dalliance of her own with Mr. Grey (Cooper), an aspiring Tory, but is forced to choose between her own happiness and the happiness of her children.

Popular with the people and known as the 'Empress of fashion,' it's impossible to escape the Princess Diana allegory running through Saul Dibb's film - the only thing missing is her death in a carriage collision. Adapted from Amanda Foreman's novel, it will appeal to those who love their period dramas (the locations on show are at times breathtaking) and although the audience this drama is pitched at will have seen better, it's a solid film. Knightley might be front and centre and shows again that she's not just a pretty face, but it's Fiennes, hamstrung by a small if formidable role, that seems to do more than his co-star and acts her off the screen whenever the two are together; thankfully for Knightley it's not that often.

Review by Gavin Burke