directed by Saul Dibb
written by Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen, Saul Dibb
starring Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, Simon McBurney, Aiden McArdle, Alistair Petrie
Ah, the sweet decay of an intemperate life. The intensity of beauty encased in a being of immaculate style, commanding attention and praise. The rock star explicit and pronounced, comes flitting about, a shadow self of those lucky enough to apprehend it. Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, was such a creature. Everyone worshiped her and mimicked her style. In late 18th century England she was the center of everything and the inspiration for countless portraits and line drawings. As portrayed by Kiera Knightley, she is a handsome figure, a ballerina of sorts, a magical being who sends shivers down the spine whenever she performs the most trivial act.
In this film, Georgiana is betrothed at seventeen to the Duke of Devonshire (Fiennes), a much older man who is utterly obsessed with producing a male heir. Georgiana’s mother, Lady Spencer, (Rampling) approved of the union as she has previously done much to encourage it. The marriage starts off fairly well but the Duke quickly begins to tire of his wife. He allows a young girl named Charlotte (Eva Hrela) to live with them in order to prepare Georgiana for motherhood. Georgiana has two daughters which only proves to irritate the Duke further. Georgiana befriends a woman named Bess Foster and she too moves in with the Duke and his wife. This proves costly for Georgiana as the Duke is unable to keep his hands off of Bess. He is also unable to give her up and so Bess becomes his kept woman and a constant reminder of the Duke’s authority over Georgiana who is forced to face her nemesis daily. There are several scenes around the dinner table where Bess and Georgiana sit near one another as bitter rivals for the Duke’s fleeting love.
With the Duke happily preoccupied with Bess, Georgiana herself goes a-roamin’ and she becomes fixated on the young Whig politician Charles Grey (Cooper), the future Prime Minister of England. The flirtation becomes an all-out affair as Georgiana appears happy for the first time in the entire film. Grey brings something out in her that the Duke is frightfully unaware of. He extracts a deeply rooted sense of joy that the Duke is either too daft or too disinterested to delve into. The result is a woman who has realized a level of contentment within herself that has heretofore been denied her.
The film is lush and the cinematography by Gyula Pados captures the loneliness that plagues Georgiana as she struggles to be an attentive wife to a man who no longer has any need for her. Her desolation is worn heavily on her face as it becomes more apparent that the Duke is not capable of providing the type of intimacy that she requires. He labels her a dreamer and he means it as a pejorative. In his codified world there is no room for such womanly sentiments because the actual world is harsh and cruel and the only purpose a man can find is to conquer it.
Georgiana becomes a burdensome thing and so he finds a woman more to his liking. Perhaps it is all Georgiana’s political agitating that sets him off of her. Whatever it is, she becomes in his eyes persona non grata and she subsequently and rightly slips away from him into the arms of another.
There are many moments in this film where the Duke becomes a reviled individual whose only recognized obligation is to himself. He’s portrayed in such a way that it is impossible to find any sympathy for him because of everything he has done to harm his lovely wife. But he is allowed to live comfortably with his indiscretion and in fact is able to replay it time and again without suffering a single stroke of punishment. It is Georgiana who is punished and who longs for an arrangement that isn’t so cold and belittling. But her status in life, her image demands that she remain regardless of how distressing such an arrangement proves to be. She is a woman who is torn between her heart and her obligation to her people.
Georgiana’s participation in politics is given a short mention in this film. She gets involved but the film readily switches gears and focuses almost entirely on her romantic life, or lack thereof. There is mention of the Whigs party which is ran by a man named Charles James Fox (McBurney) and its political platform. Georgiana is seen conversing with Fox as well as introducing her future lover, Charles Grey. The riveting young man riles up the crowd with talk of revolution and change. Aside from these few moments there is really very little political talk in this film. It becomes the story of a scorned woman who attempts to take back as much as she can. Her intentions seem to be to free herself from the tyranny of the situation at home but this task is far more difficult than she could ever have imagined.
Quite a lot is said about the role of Georgiana in her newfound position. The Duke says later that he made two demands on her when they got married. Loyalty and a male heir. As she has failed on both accounts she is deserving of all the torment he can dish out to her. In the early stages of her marriage Georgiana is dancing a dying swan with exquisite precision and grace and maintains her position with society through a series of exquisite gestures that capture her public and bring them close to her. She possesses a dynamism that draws people into her and they respond with adulation and praise. She represents everything that is regal and pure in their eyes and they worship her accordingly. At one point in the film she is announced to a crowd by a man who says that what she is wearing will be worn by every woman in attendance the following day. Georgiana in this film is a woman of many talents who thrives on the attention that is won with her words and her deeds. She acknowledges that women do not have much of their own and that hats and dresses are their only way to express themselves. She says this with an astute political mind who certainly has much more to offer than her wardrobe.
The dynamic between Bess and Georgiana is well maintained. Their easy friendship is tarnished by Bess’s behavior with the Duke although Georgiana seems able to suffer through the reality as exhibited by Bess whom she is forced to see everyday. The film suggests that she truly has few options and must endure the situation without complaint.
The performances in this film are all air-tight. Kiera Knightley brings both an elegance and mischievousness to her role which is tinged with sadness. She projects a tremendous amount of charisma and charm throughout the film and maintains her character’s intelligence and fortitude. Ralph Fiennes plays the Duke as a man who is quite disturbed with his life when he’s not engaged with the political world. His countenance is darkened and he appears like a man who is criminally uncomfortable. Charlotte Rampling is a picture of control in this film. Her character is a solid woman who knows how to manipulate her way in society. She possesses infinite knowledge about the niceties that are expected from a woman of her stature and passes this on to her daughter. Rampling exudes class in this role and exhibits a commanding presence that is impossible to ignore. Dominic Cooper projects all of the appearances necessary for a politician. His character is charismatic, straightforward and earnest about the ideas he conveys to his audience. Cooper brings all these characteristics easily to the fore and is infinitely watchable. Hayley Atwell certainly plays a very naughty girl in this film and her eyes never quite lose their glint of treachery. Her character possesses a vitality, an exuberance that is readily felt from the first moment she appears on screen.
Overall, this is a captivating film about a fascinating woman who seems most definitely to have been a woman of her times. She comes across in this film as a woman who was damaged by her station and who found herself in a loveless marriage with a man who nevertheless afforded her an elevated position in society. He brought her to their attention but she kept herself their through her charm and capability of directly connecting with them. If this film truly captures the actual woman, it seems as if she was appreciated as a symbol of everything that was considered good and true. Keira Knightley certainly captures this essential quality and conveys a woman who charmed the crowds while harboring her own tormenting regrets.
No comments:
Post a Comment