THE FILM

Keira Knightley extravagantly bewigged and tightly corseted is not a sight unfamiliar to the screen. That said, "The Duchess" is a costume melodrama not concerned with familiarity, only passion and how it shaped a momentous moment in English history. "Duchess" takes a dramatic pathway riddled with heavy footprints from previous productions, but the picture is a winner, thanks in no small part to Knightley and her accomplished ability to communicate utter despair with only a faint ripple of her porcelain features.

At 17 years of age, Georgiana (Keira Knightley) is bursting with excitement to marry Duke William Cavendish (Ralph Fiennes), only to realize the union has been forged with eternal emotional ice. Secluded and made to feel worthless due to her inability to produce a male heir for the Duke, Georgiana turns to social gatherings and political causes to fill her days, soon falling for Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), an old friend who holds plans to become the Prime Minister. As William takes Georgiana's friend Bess (Hayley Atwell) to become his mistress, the Duchess has designs on her own affair with Charles, finding William's martial grip tighter and more destructive than she could've ever imagined when word leaks out to the public.

"The Duchess" is defined by its scripted urgency, with the writers (working from Amanda Foreman's biography) eschewing a formal sense of manner and distance from Georgiana's life to survey the turmoil. The feature dives right into the psychological toil the Duchess encountered as she embarked on a life-long experience that rarely stopped to ask her opinion. The picture is structured with primary attention to blunt emotional trauma, not the nuances of the problematical royal life, and the stripped down focus is appreciated to cleave away the wondrous ornate costuming and social square dancing, reaching for the delicate moments of frightening isolation and bitter frustration.

Director Saul Dibb approaches his film like a traditional museum piece, with porno-style attention to the fine edges of the elegant production design (often candlelit, of course) and expansive estate locations. Dibb, in perfect union with composer Rachael Portman's poignant score, conjures an immediate time and place for Georgiana's story. I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for tuning out the plot to bathe in the juices of the recreated era; it's a classical directorial effort that transports the viewer far and away with spotless execution.

Dibb shows grace with his talent as well, permitting a wide space for Knightley and Fiennes to carry out their battle of wills. Fiennes portrays the crisp venom of William with anticipated spirit, crafting something intensely judgmental and horrifying out of the often wordless role. Knightley, being the star of the show, really takes the cake in terms of imparting a superb sense of anguish. Essentially a reacting machine, Knightley gives the camera her all, running through the gauntlet of emotions as Georgiana's life circles tragedy at an alarming pace. It's a true leading-lady performance, and it shows amazing versatility on Knightley's part that she can play her umpteenth tea-n-scandal role and have it feel fresh again.

THE DVD

Visual:

With such a delicate visual scheme, "The Duchess" DVD comes armed with an anamorphic widescreen transfer (2.35:1 aspect ratio) capable of handling the clean colors and extensive black levels of the cinematography. Detail is plentiful here, with no digital hiccups detected.

Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby Digital "Duchess" sound experience is, as to be expected, a soft creation intended to emphasize emotional situations over technical ones. Dialogue and Rachel Portman's sumptuous score are crisply defined, with wonderful party atmospherics reserved for the surround channels. French and Spanish 5.1 tracks are also available.

Subtitles:

English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

Extras:

"How Far She Went...The Making of 'The Duchess'" (22:52) walks a fine line between bland promotional confession and a featurette of true educational value. The interviews with cast and crew straddle the typical EPK offerings of celebratory production discussion, but time spent with historians presents appealing information on Georgiana and the locations used for filming. In lieu of a commentary, this is a solid snapshot of production achievement and dramatic interpretation.

"Georgiana in Her Own Words" (7:11) sits down with an animated Amanda Foreman, who used letters written by Georgiana to her mother to help flesh out the book that inspired the film.

"Costume Diary" (5:38) spotlights the effort from designer Michael O'Connor to add authenticity and a dashing sense of style to the picture.

A Theatrical Trailer has not been included on this DVD.

FINAL THOUGHTS

When Georgiana starts to test out her individuality in the final act, "The Duchess" attempts a mood of sensuality that's perhaps too Skinemax for comfort, losing the direction of the film for a few sequences meant to appease the bodice-ripper enthusiasts. It's doesn't spoil the picture, the subplot just confuses it for a moment before returning to a place of crushing royal bereavement that's utterly compelling.