Review
Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) is a young girl married to a much older duke (Ralph Fiennes) for the sole purpose of producing an heir. Her passion and life causes her to be loved by the people of Briton, becoming a fashion icon and having a growing influence in the political arena. But at home things aren’t well. Her husband has continuous affairs and she is unable to give him a son.
The Duchess is set at the end of the eighteenth century, a time when woman had little power while men ruled uncontested. With beautiful locations, detailed costumes and forbidden love this movie will delight history-drama fans.
Keira Knightley shines in this picture as she goes through the emotional struggles of a free spirited woman imprisoned by her husband. She has grown tremendously as an actress but she is consistently playing period characters, from Pirates of the Caribbean to Pride and Prejudice. For her to grow as an actress she needs to take the risk and branch out into roles we have never seen her in.
We’ve seen so many period films that the interesting storyline and good acting seems wasted. It feels like we’ve seen it all done before. Although it may provide for an entertaining drama it is in no way a groundbreaking film which could hurt it at the box office.
Sensitive Viewer’s Points
The movie contains nudity and sex which is in the context of the film. It contains scenes of rape and unfaithfulness, again within the context of the film. It also seems to promote the idea that if one’s marital partner is having an affair it is fine for you to do the same. The rating is rightly set at sixteen.
The Command and Conquer series is back with their third instalment of the Red Alert series. The series started out in World War II were Einstein had changed history causing the Soviets to be the major force bent on world domination. The series then moved to psychic warfare. Yuri, the new Soviet Premier’s right hand man, controls the new Premier’s mind and gets him to attack the USA. At the end, the allies defeated the Soviets again, but Yuri was still a fugitive. An expansion was launched for Red Alert 2 where Yuri re-emerges with a large army. The Allies go back in time to ensure he doesn’t win. The new release, due in November 2008, is born from time machine troubles again.
