Movie Review: The Duchess


Starring:  Kiera Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling and Dominic Cooper

Released:  September 10, 2008

Based on the non-fiction book Georgiana: The Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman






Oh I could just kick myself for not watching this movie before now...what a fabulous, fabulous movie!  As soon as it was over, I wanted to watch it all over again and I will most definitely be purchasing the DVD!

The Duchess stars Kiera Knightley as Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire and Ralph Fiennes as William, the Duke of Devonshire.  I am not usually a Kiera Knightley fan, but I must say that she ROCKED as Georgiana and her dresses, hair and makeup were TO DIE FOR!  I have always loved Ralph Fiennes and his acting in this movie cemented that.  His character wasn't very likable, but he was fantastic!  

Georgiana herself is quite an intriguing woman.  She was beautiful, loved to gamble, an avid political campaigner for the Whigs and was the fasion icon of the day.  You can bet that whatever she wore one night, would be worn by everyone else the next day!  She was also a very close friend of Marie Antoinette.

While I can't speak for the historical accuracy of the novel, I have the perfect person that can and with her permission I am including a link to her reviews - there is one on the movie itself and a second one on the historical accuracy.  Heather Carroll hosts The Duchess of Devonshire's Guide to the 18th Century blog and if you are anything like me you will immediately want to know more about the Duchess of Devonshire and Heather's site is a veritable treasure trove of information on this fascinating woman.

WARNING:  Reviews contain spoilers, so please do not read if don't want to know!

Heather's Review Part 1

Heather's Review Part 2



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12 comments:

  1. I have heard that the costuming is exquisite.

    I read a book about her but cannot remember the title...

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  2. I loved this movie too. It's actually based on a biography of her by Amanda Foreman called Georgianna: Duchess of Devonshire, which has since been rebranded for the film.

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  3. YES...yes I too love this movie and bought it immediately! My niece wasn't that impressed when she saw it and I am so glad that I didn't listen...lol We both read "The Other Boleyn" years before the movie came out and even though we liked the movie we were a little disappointed about the changes that were made by Hollywood. So I didn't now what to expect when The Duchess came out...guess it's a good thing I haven't read any books about her as yet...lol Have a great week Amy, fondly, Roberta

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  4. I loved it too, crying buckets at one particular scene (I won't include spoilers, but you can probably guess which one). Would love to see it again!

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  5. Fun! I'll have to check this one out!

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  6. I'm so glad that someone else who isn't a devotee of Knightley's had something positive to say about the movie. I've shied away from watching it after reading her wonderful biography because I didn't want to be annoyed by the actress portraying her. I will definitely have to watch it now, but I have always wanted to see someone else in that role besides Knightley. When I have a gabillion dollars, I shall re-do the movie with my own speecial actors!

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  7. I really enjoyed this movie too and only saw it a couple months ago. Why does it take so long to watch the good ones? Glad you enjoyed it!

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  8. I love the movie. But after watching the duchess i feel as if somethings were missing and i wish it was part of the movie. But i still love the movie the casting was perfect and Dominic Cooper made Charles gray a likeable man.

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  9. Amy thanks for the review. I will have to add this to my netflix list.

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  10. I watched this movie and loved it. I really felt for Georgiana and her circumstances. I am not a huge Knightley fan either, and totally agree with you that she did a fabulous job in this role.

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  11. It's funny, Amy, I just watched this movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago, too. I absolutely loved it. And I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who teared up at the end. ;)

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  12. Ralph Fiennes was awesome in the movie, although he was not very nice. I am tired of seeing Knightley in so many of the British themed films though.

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