| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A |
|
|
| Direction: |
B |
|
|
| Visuals: |
B+ |
|
|
Devon Cream without a spoon.
by Jim B (movies profile)
Oct 30, 2008
2
of
2 people found this review helpful
Georgiana Spencer the Duchess of Devonshire or could that be Keira Knightley as Diana Spencer Princess of Wales? Which ever you decide on, it is possible that they were one and the same the way Director Saul Dibb has directed this work. A period piece that falls short on who the Duchess really is and who Mr. Dibb and Ms. Knightley have decided to portray her as.
Ralph Fiennes and Keira Knightley are a perfect pair in this film “The Duchess”, of Devonshire Georgiana Cavendish. I only wish there was more of them together in this film along with their lives and moments of living. A ménage of interest but not much discovered.
Mr. Dibb takes us into interesting situations in this film and then backs out, giving the appearance of juicy work, but really no depth. Ms. Knightley and Mr. Fiennes appear to have found their characters but are seldom held to full display. I’m not sure if the writing is so limited or the film was cut to pieces, but what remains is more sound bite and costume than it is a discovery of who these people were in their lives. Sort of a gossip column chuckle, one after another. The Duke (Ralph Fiennes ) asks at the end while looking at the children play, what it must be like to be so free, yet we don’t get enough of why Mr. Dibb thinks the Duke isn’t free.
The costumes are tremendous to Wow and the photography makes everything most appealing but the story falls short in the telling, like spreading a large scoop of Devon cream on fresh bright ripe blueberries and cut strawberries next to your coffee in the morning then immediately running out into the rain without an umbrella leaving the bowl of fruit and cream for the houseflies.
Even with all the short falls of the story telling, this film is worth the adventure and mostly due to the talent portraying the characters. Charlotte Rampling (Lady Spencer) is always dazzling, Hayley Atwell (Bess Foster, the Dukes livin-lover later wife) gives us a single note character but still well played, as does Dominic Cooper (Charles Grey eventual Prime Minister of UK Lover of the Duchess). |
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