The Duchess

[1.0
stars] [IMDb Link]

[Amazon Link]
(paid link)

Yes, back to the Chick Flick genre. I wouldn't mention it, other than my compulsive need to log in every new movie I sit through. This barely qualifies, since Mrs. Salad is pretty sure I slept through large swatches. But, if you're a woman, you might like it.

Keira Knightley plays Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806). She's placed into a loveless marriage with the older Duke, played by Ralph Fiennes; her main duty, as far as he's concerned, is to produce a male heir. He's much more attracted to his mistress, and she has a lover on the side as well. She's also outspoken, controversial, a gambler, a drunk, … Basically, it's a Lifetime movie set in the English past.

All that may remind you of a more recent British couple. It's supposed to. And it turns out that Georgiana is actually an ancestor of Princess Diana.

Other than the melodrama, there are a lot of glorious costumes and fabulous settings, on which one can feast one's eyes, if one's eyes are hungry for that sort of thing. Mine pretty much aren't.


Last Modified 2024-01-31 5:31 AM EDT