Sawtell First Avenue Cinema

Now Showing at Sawtell Cinema

The Duchess
Rating: M      Running Time: 1 hrs 49 mins

Session Times: Thu 20-Nov 10:30 am, Fri 21-Nov 2:15 pm, Sat 22-Nov 12:00 pm, Sun 23-Nov 3:00 pm, Tue 25-Nov 5:30 pm

Synopsis:

In 18th century England, aristocratic Georgiana (Keira Knightley), is maneuvered by her mother (Charlotte Rampling) into a strained marriage with the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), a cold and cruel man only interested in her as a means of having a male heir. Georgiana is trapped in her unhappy marriage which soon becomes a preposterous triangle with her husband and his live-in mistress (Hayley Atwell). She falls passionately in love with ambitious young politician Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt into a huge scandal with devastating consequences.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Mouth watering scandal, a juicy love triangle and high powered men behaving badly make this a solid drama about character and society in 18th century England - especially as it is based on real events. Keira Knightly carries the film on her pretty shoulders as the young woman pushed into a useful but ultimately disastrous marriage by her mother, played by the splendid Charlotte Rampling. Now the wife of the all powerful Duke of Devonshire, Georgiana discovers too late that she is married to a cruel, hard hearted man who doesn't love her but wants her to have his son and heir. When she can't manage a boy child after two attempts (and some still births as well as miscarriages) her husband turns feral.

Knightly is terrific as the wounded young wife whose life continues to be full of emotional pain and sacrifice, while Ralph Fiennes is darkly, disturbingly effective as the nasty old Duke with few scruples - or manners. Hayley Atwell provides valuable and emotionally tormented support as Lady Elisabeth, whose own marriage has disintegrated with her two young sons taken by their father. This proves to be a fatal lever that the Duke uses to get his way in how the lives around him are lived.

The characters are fascinating figures, and the Duke's power is nowhere better demonstrated than in the fact he can get away with having his mistress live in the same house (however large it is) as his wife. In 18th century England, when scandal was as dangerous to standing and career as a prison sentence, this was a spectacular show of strength. Fiennes plays the Duke with a remarkable intensity that adds layers of complexity to what may have turned out as a flat caricature. He had to be that good to keep up with Knightley's heartbreaking performance.

Dramatic and emotionally satisfying - if not for the poor old characters - the film looks fabulous, thanks to top production design and cinematography. Rachel Portman's score also works a treat, and the film's core themes are cleverly handled by director Saul Dibb.