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The Duchess

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  iispiral@ wrote:
  Kiera Knightly in a bodice-ripper? That's a stretch. The film does have satisfying melodramatic moments: courtly anguish; frustrated passion; and genuine tragedy. It is hard to avoid making obvious parallels to Diana Spencer, Georgiana's descendant in spirit and in fact. Ralph Fiennes plays a boorish curmudgeon to the hilt... the films great moment is his declaration: "I do not make deals!" when faced with his obstinant wife, her affair and appeal for a rapprochement all can live with. Costuming and stately sets are remarkable. Every scene at table, in the gambling parlour or in drawing room dance is elegant. The Duchess of Devonshire set the tone for society. It is tragic that her personal life was so grim. Today we have egalitarianism, liberalism, post-moderism... and a host of other 'isms' creating a polyglot polity. The film communicated the repression and constraint in a very dangerous era, but the Regency had its own complex sense of gravitas. After all, the Duke did take in 6 year old Charlotte when she was orphaned, if not an act of compassion, it was a paternal duty. I wonder if Prince Charles would have done as much in that era?
(6/10)
 
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