Stars:
** 1/2
Rating: PG-13 for nudity
and mature themes
Run
Time: 1
hour, 45 minutes
Keira
Knightley was made for costume dramas; her slender frame, chiseled cheekbones and
cool demeanor begging for wigs and corsets.
“Duchess”
is classic Knightley, the mostly true story of Georgiana Spencer, a charming
extrovert who made an abysmal match to the wealthy and powerful 18th
century aristocrat the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes).
With
patience, fortitude and stoic resignation Georgiana, now the exalted Duchess of
Devonshire, gets on with the pre-arranged business of bearing the Duke a son.
Instead it’s an incessant procession of daughters, including a fey toddler
sired by the Duke on the side.
Double
standards abound – the chilly bastard taking his wife’s best friend as his
mistress (Hayley Atwell as Lady Elizabeth) but threatening to spirit away
Georgiana’s daughters if she so much as looks at another man. Considering the
fact that she’s besotted by future Prime Minister Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper)
it’s sticky times for the royal union.
The success
of “Duchess” relies on energetic chemistry between Knightley and Fiennes but its
much ado about nothing. Both stay true to their customary screen personas –
hers the winsome enchantress cum fashionista and his the cruel, unfeeling
wretch. Ne’er the twain do meet but for some fleeting sparks of frustration and
resentment.
Juicy power
struggles endure but the costumes take center stage, fantastically constricting
creations as beautifully breathtaking as they must be wretchedly uncomfortable.
Period fans
rejoice, the rest of us need more.