The Duchess

[Liza]

Here's an article with a brief, but fairly intense clip from the film.

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/10/07/exclusive-clip-from-the-duchess/

The movie is opening in Greenville this Friday. My daughter and I will be going to see it on Saturday! : )

[Alice]

I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Ralph's part isn't all that big (if you'll pardon the expression..) but he effortlessly steals every scene he's in. Oh, and he still looks lovely even in 18th century costume!

[trugannini]

I like your sense of humour Alice :) No further comment.

[Liza]

I've actually gotten used to the wig. He's just a handsome man, regardless of wig or costume. : )

[Dana]

I saw the movie last Monday and loved him!! My only complaint is he didn't have a lot of screen time. I hope to see it again this week!

[Liza]

I found this completely by accident. There is a little make-up lesson beforehand, but then there is a nice piece about the film. : )

http://www.vogue.tv/?WT.mc_id=y178621&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.src...

[fiennesite]

Am I the only person who wishes he had a wig now? I would really love it if he'd just grow his hair back...even with the receeding hairline I think he'd look better than this shaved look he seems determined to stick with. I think we've discussed it many a time...he's no Billy Zane...his head is shaped like an egg and pale as one...sigh...looking forward to RF with hair...even if it is fake and powdered sigh....haha.

I have a babysitter arranged for the 25th..so hoping it's still in theatres then.
Mary K.

[trugannini]

You sigh all you like Mary K. May I sigh with you....we can SIGH together.......My friends are saying
to me "Have you got over him now?" I say, "WHAT??? I don't want to get over him". He's just
the best best best I have ever seen, heard, watched...drool.......faints.

[Liza]

Hi Mary K.! : )

It seems like Ralph keeps his hair however he needs it for the performance he's giving at the time. I've never seen a man look so different so often in a three year (the time I've known him) time span! I can't say I agree with the wig idea. I tend to love him "au natural", however he is at the present moment. If the current hairstyle works for the current production, so be it. I have a feeling he is keeping it this way for Oedipus. This look seems to work better for this character than longer hair would. Of course, that's just my thought.

I went to see The Duchess yesterday. That it's a true story makes it easier to discuss. I feel free to talk about it without giving it away and ruining the story for someone else. However, knowing that this was a true story, or at least based on one, makes it all the more heart-rending. The costumes were very beautiful and ornate, but the buildings, particularly the Duke of Devonshire's main residence, were amazing! I want to visit England!! : )

The performances were really wonderful. I think Keira Knightley has been much maligned by her critics. She is only 23 years old. I have a child that age, so to me, she's a kid, but one who has accomplished a great deal in a short time. She's pretty much been dismissed as the poster child for period films, but that is really selling her short. I've only seen a few of her films, but this to me is the best so far. I think she portrays this character with a great depth and a maturity beyond her years.

Then there is our Mr. Fiennes. There are only so many ways to call an artist brilliant, wonderful and amazing without sounding redundant so I welcome any additional adjectives that reflect all this. Till then, I'll be redundant. Ralph has yet to disappoint me in any performance he's given. He certainly doesn't here. I read and heard what Ralph hoped the audience would see in his characterization of the Duke. I think he accomplished this exceedingly well from the first moment on the screen. The Duke is a man who is made extremely arrogant and yet agonized by his position all at once. He may treat people on a level just beneath his dogs, but their is a point of humanity within him that sees and, at least beneath the surface, acknowledges the consequences of his actions. Ralph speaks absolute volumes with his eyes and expression, even in the body language. But its subtle, you have to watch him carefully. I know this won't be hard! : )

I think the real villain of the story is the society which imprisoned people into such a mind-set. The Duke did what he knew to do, probably imprinted in him by previous generations and reinforced by the social strata that surrounded him. In a way, William had no more choices than Georgiana, only the power (which was awfully abused) and control which was afforded to the men of his time and he exercised it to maintain the way of life and structure that he felt obligated to preserve. Much of what he did is very hard to forgive, but if viewed objectively, not completely impossible to understand.

Ralph said one other thing in one of his interviews. The point of making the film was the last scene played out between William and Georgiana. When I saw it, I understood what he meant. I'll leave it at that. : )

Just one personal note. Ralph seemed concerned when one of the interviewers said she wanted to slap the Duke. I understood her. In this film, there are a few tense scenes at the dinner table. There is one in particular towards the end where Georgiana has just gone through a horrendous time and is, quite understandably, not eating her roasted pigeon. The Duke makes some remark about the pigeon being quite good. If it had been me sitting at the opposite end of the table from that man, he would have gotten roast pigeon smack between the eyes! But then, I'm an ill-tempered Latin female who would have probably fared horribly in 18th century British society. : )