The Duchess

The Duchess (2008)
It had turned into a rainy and suddenly very cold Saturday afternoon, so me and my 3/4 sleeve top managed to coerce my shopping friend to go and hide out in the local overpriced cinema complex. Normally we avoid it as it smells of burgers, is full of teenagers and the prices on the sweets go up swifter than the price of petrol. After charging us a small mortgage payment to enter we were glad to find not a single person under 18 at this movie, and we were not the oldest either.

The Duchess, is based on a real life relative of Princess Di, who for her time was famous for her beauty and for her marriage to a one of the richest men in England. When she introduces a friend to the Duke, she suddenly finds herself having to share her marriage and spends her time feeling trapped and unloved (sound familiar?).

Well Keira Knightly does a fantastic job. She is mesmerizing to watch, although the costumes, hair and jewels all make her an amazing fashion horse of the time. I have a soft spot for Ralph Fiennes too, as me and a good friend had seen him play Hamlet in London many years ago. Our seats, were the cheapest meaning we were 5 stories up in the air and could just about touch the ceiling. Even though many of our glances at him, were at the top of his head we were mesmerized. In this movie, he plays a dull and frustrated Duke, who makes the rules and expects to be obeyed. Oh what a world to have been born into.

So, a nice little costume drama. I still managed to snooze off, but that could be all the shift work and late nights lately (study not nights out). We did laugh that all the padding, petticoats, corsets etc managed to make miss Keira look wide and in certain scenes gave her a heaving bosom. It is hard to imagine how a more modern miss with a touch more padding would appear in some of the outfits. But bravo to the costume designers, hairdressers and milliners, your work was spectacular. 3/5.