The movie opens in 1774; Georgina Spencer (Keira Knightley) is a seventeen years old girl living happy and health in her family’s country manor. She has friends and perhaps a potential love interest, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper). Her mother (Charlotte Rampling) selfishly agrees for her daughter to wed one of the most powerful men of their day, the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes). Georgina only asks her mother if he loves her, a man she has only met once, satisfied she willingly agrees to the marriage of a man whom is a decade older. The marriage for the Duke is only a means for a male heir and Georgina quickly learns the emptiness of her decision. Over the next six years, Georgina tries to appease and satisfy the Duke but can only deliver two beautiful daughters. Georgina tries to look the other way with the Duke’s infidelities through the years but is outraged when he allows one of his mistresses (Hayley Atwell) to live with them. Accepting her lifeless marriage, she too tries to take on a lover but learns the truth and reality of a woman living in the 18-century.

The Duchess is a slow but fascinating look into a time period that is hopefully quite foreign in the modern age. A time when women knew their place and men held all the power. Georgina Cavendish in many ways was the Princess Diana of her day. She was well loved by the commoners, was her own sort of fashion icon having a hand in creating her clothes, a good mother and even participated in the political arena. However, even though the film tells us the events of her life. The Duchess is really a story about her looking for happiness, for true love and the desperate fight to free herself not only from her husband, but the very shackles women were forced to wear from that time period.

Along with the film we have some nice features to give us more of a full picture on this true life epic. First up we have a twenty-two minute documentary entitled “How Far She Went…Making of the Duchess” which is in hi-def and is told in six-parts on the history of the real character and the making of the film. “Georgina in Her Own Words,” is a short seven minute feature based on her letters that the book and in turn the film is based on. Finally there is a five minute feature called “Costume Diary” on the costumes of the film.

The Duchess is a beautiful looking film that is often a little too slow moving. The film plays like a made for TV movie and perhaps would have played better as a mini-series. There’s a lot of ground that is covered and at times you don’t feel you understand the motives of the characters as well as you would like. None the less, there is some great acting here based on a true story. If you are a fan of the actors or the history then check out The Duchess on blu-ray.

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