This period potboiler, featuring gorgeous costumes and settings, an excellent cast and events "based on a true story" is entertaining as a somewhat guilty pleasure. The story revolves around Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley), a Princess Diana type of figure trapped in a loveless marriage but adored by the public due to her style and social graces. While many points are made about the terribly powerless position in which the women of that time found themselves, the real entertainment of watching this movie is in the visuals and soap opera plot line of indiscretions, manipulations and child custody with some amazing hats and beautiful castles thrown in for good measure. Georgiana starts off as a fun loving young woman but is soon married off to the wealthy Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) who proves to be an uptight, controlling horror of a husband. Add a live-in mistress for the Duke (the wonderful Hayley Atwell from "Brideshead Revisited") plus relentless pressure to give birth to a son and the Duchess' life quickly becomes a nightmare, saved only by handsome young aspiring prime minister Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper). Even the attraction between the doomed Duchess and the aspiring politician, however, comes with a high price. Although the Duchess turns to her mother (Charlotte Rampling) for advice and comfort, it's clear she is expected to fulfill her wifely duties despite her unbearable predicament.
Although Keira Knightley is not one of my favorite actresses, she's fine here, with a few too many weepy moments and an uncanny knack for carrying enormous hairpieces and hats atop her skinny neck. Ralph Fiennes manages to bring a vague sense of humanity to his heinous character as we become aware that the Duke is trapped in the same stifling social system that makes his wife miserable. There's good chemistry between Knightley and Cooper, but things became a little tiresome for me when the beleagured Duchess suffers one blow after another. An actress of more skill might have brought in other aspects of this character's plight while Knightley seems to rely on switching between tears and a stony faced stoicism that doesn't make the Duchess interesting enough to sustain her considerable screen time. Atwell does a much better job with the lesser role of the Duke's mistress, who comes off as a truly compromised and ambitious yet warm, strong person.
Things to love about this movie: The complicated relationship between the Duchess and the Duke's mistress; those dresses! those hats! those castles!
Things to hate about this movie: A little too much drama; the typical ending where we're told exactly what happened to each character further down the road
Pleasant surprises: The Duchess' hair actually catches on fire in one scene (it's sad and funny all at once); Fiennes plays a priggish jerk to perfection (complete with paunch and an annoying ducklike walk)
Unpleasant surprises: Would have liked to see the men (Cooper and Fiennes) given more screen time
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