Moviola > Films > The Duchess

The Duchess (12A)   110 mins

"There were three people in her marriage"

Like Princess Diana, her direct descendant, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) was beautiful, glamorous and adored by the public.  But while her beauty and charisma made her a household name, love always seemed to escape her.  Beneath the glamorous façade lay an intelligent, vulnerable woman stranded in a loveless marriage to the Duke (Ralph Fiennes), one of the richest men in England.  Frustrated by the limitations imposed on her by virtue of her sex and class, she rebelled, entering into an intense relationship with the beautiful Lady "Bess " Foster (Hayley Atwell), thereby setting up a complex ménage à trois with the Duke.  Georgiana's rebellion extended to the public sphere where she tore down conventions, becoming a political campaigner for the Liberal party.  In so doing she fell for Earl Grey (Dominic Cooper), the future Prime Minister, finally discovering the meaning of true love.  But could true love survive the strictures of the Duke, of Bess and of Society - the pressures of marriage and motherhood, of friendship and loyalty, of class and celebrity?

"Saul Dibb's excellent new film - based on Amanda Foreman's biography - is the best period drama for some time." Tiscali UK

     Last modified: 11-Aug-2009

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