I read a good review of "The Duchess" somewhere. The movie sounded intriguing and stars Ralph Fiennes, so I figured it would be better than average. But it was not.
Based on a true story (although I'm sure the details were embellished), the movie tells the tale of one clueless eighteenth-century duchess. Georgiana marries well, but the duke is uninterested in his wife except for her ability to produce an heir. Everyone else is in love with her, though, especially Charles Grey, a political up-and-comer. He is rather clueless as well. Maybe if the two of them had watched "Becoming Jane" they would have had an inkling of how the society they lived in worked. Anyway, in the end Georgiana chooses her children over her lover, the lover avoids scandal and is elected prime minister, and G, the duke, and his mistress all live happily ever after. Until G dies. Then the duke and the mistress marry and continue to live happily ever after. (The movie is so predictable, I don't feel bad about revealing the ending.)
The movie was rated PG-13. Today's 13-year-olds must be more sophisticated than I was at that age, because I would have been aghast to see a bare backside in a movie back then. In some ways, I still am, but now in a good way.
No comments:
Post a Comment