The Duchess

Keira pouts her way through yet another film but at least that plummy accent perfectly fits the milieu. Set among the upper classes, the message hammered home is the dreadful treatment of women in 18th century England. Hence, endless scenes of Georgiana, her friend and her mother bemoaning their lot. Just think what life must have been like for women without riches, lots of clothes and servants to carry out their every whim, but that film would involve fewer pretty dresses and elaborate hairstyles. It doesn't help that it's all so superficial. Thank goodness for Ralph Fiennes. His potentially one-note "heartless cad" is invested with unexpected flashs of self-awareness. Not that the character becomes sympathetic but occasionally his eyes reveal glimpses of the decent man buried under the weight of tradition and his class upbringing. And he gets the best line in the film in a scene where a wig catches fire. Yes, it gets *that* deep.