I saw Ralph Fiennes new movie "The Duchess" last week and liked it, though my viewing was
marred by the fact that I couldn't hear most of the dialogue, even with
the amplified
headphones the cinema provided. I'm sure I missed a lot of nuances,
which hopefully will be clear when I see it on DVD with captions. At
first I became
frustrated at not hearing more than a word here & there, but calmed
down when I realized that I knew the basic story & could enjoy the
movie as a
purely visual experience. It's the story of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire in the 1700's; her marriage, her friendships and how they collide. Evidently, the Duchess was a trendsetter in her time, along with causing scandals & dabbling in politics.
     It was a beautiful looking film: all the
pretty buildings & rooms, the fields with sheep, the pond with
swans, the dappled greys
pulling carriages, the costumes, all very pastoral. Having just watched
"Atonement", I didn't know if I could take 2 more hours of Kiera Knightly so soon,
but her character was much more likable in "The Duchess" & I felt a
lot of sympathy for her character. I even believed her as a mother,
which
surprised me. I did, however, notice that she never actually ate any of
the food set before her in the many dining scenes. We saw a lot of
Ralph chewing, but
she only swigged wine, etc.Dominic Cooper was not up to the job of
being the obsessed lover. He needs to watch a few of his costar's (Ralph)
movies to learn that.
There was no smoldering, so Cooper looked shallow, instead of smitten.
Ralph was not really a likable character, but he was multidimensional,
the lack of
dialogue hindered my complete grasp of his character. But I greatly
enjoyed seeing him interact with the handsome dogs, that was a thrill.
*sigh* 

   You could tell "The Duchess" was a European
film, because it was mostly people sitting around talking, about
relationships and Life. Had it been an American production, there
would've been a few
sword fights, carriage chases and ceramics thrown during an argument
between the Duke & Duchess, with them falling together laughing at
the end while a
snappy pop song swelled up before the credits.

  I appreciated how they told us what happened to everyone at the end.The
historical details seemed accurate as far as I could tell. The movie
had a wonderful
atmosphere, transporting us to that time & worked well as a
character study.
So for anyone wanting a quiet, slow movie about the interactions of people in pretty clothes and settings, I recommend it.