Tag: Marraige

My 1st Broadway play!!!

Emma2 Comments

That’s my first love- the theater.  –Denzel Washington 

INTRODUCTION

This past Saturday, I went to NYC to see my first Broadway play, the Pulitzer Prize winning Fences by August Wilson.  Fences is part of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of ten plays.  Each drama explores a different decade in the 20th century, and each examines the lives and struggles of African Americans.  The 13-week limited engagement of Fences is at the Cort Theater (138 W. 48th St. btwn 6th Ave & Bdwy).

Playwright August Wilson

Fences is a powerful family drama set in the late ’50s starring Denzel Washington (twice an Oscar winner) and Viola Davis (recent Oscar nominee).  This is a character-driven story with one simple set (action takes place on the front porch of a humble little house).  I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the 9th row (close to stage). Once I got over the “Wow, I’m seeing Denzel in person!” feeling, I really got involved in the play.  The (diverse) audience enjoyed it very much, too.  We laughed, we got teary-eyed, and… WE SAW DENZEL!!!

Denzel Washington (Troy)

At one point, Denzel’s character enumerated all that he had to give before exiting the stage.  One elderly woman called out: “I’ll take it!”  LOL!  And yes, he is JUST as handsome up close as onscreen. 

As expected, Denzel stopped traffic in front of the theater for some minutes while people hovered about seeking pictures or just a glimpse before the limos set off.   Unfortunately, he didn’t stay for autographs, but I noticed the young actor who played his son (Chris Chalk) signing playbills.

PREMISE

At the start of the play, Troy Maxon (Denzel Washington) is a 53 yr. old former Negro League baseball player who hauls trash in the Hill District of Pittsburgh w/ his best pal Jim Bono (actor/theater educator Stephen McKinley Henderson).  Troy lives in an old house w/ his 2nd wife Rose (Viola Davis) and their 17 y.o. son Cory (Chris Chalk).   Though Troy is illiterate, he is a hard-worker hoping to get a promotion.  Troy and Rose seem to have a solid (yet passionate) relationship after 18 yrs. together.  Cory works at the A&P (grocery store), but hopes to attend college on a football scholarship.

Viola Davis (Rose)

When Lyons (Russell Hornsby), Troy’s 34 y.o. son from a previous marriage, drops by on a FRI (payday) to ask for $10, Troy is NOT too amused.  He tells Lyons that he’s a married man now, and needs to take care of himself and his wife.  (Lyons’ wife works as a laundress, though she has trained as a nurse.)  Troy advises him to “learn a trade,” but Lyons insists that he’ll stick to music.  “I’m not like the rest of you- I’m a musician,” Lyons says with bravado.  Rose and Bono persuade Troy, and he grudgingly allows Rose to loan out the $10.  (Rose, a practical AND caring woman, is the keeper of the family purse.)  As Lyons picks up his horn to leave, the disappointment is evident on Troy’s face.  “He’ll be back,” Troy concludes.

While Lyons was visiting, Troy’s younger brother Gabe (Mykelti Williamson) dropped by.  Gabe, a WWII vet, has a “metal plate in his head” and is now mentally handicapped.  We learn that the Maxon house was bought w/ money from Gabe’s veteran’s benefits.  But Gabe recently moved out of the house to live in a boarding house.  “I got two rooms!” he enthusiastically tells Rose.  Gabe sells fruit in the neighborhood to earn a bit of money for his room/board.  

Though Rose is patient/kind with Gabe, his presence is an irritation to Troy.  “I done everything I can for the boy,” Troy exclaims w/ exasperation when Rose worries about Gabe’s health/habits.  Being in the hospital wasn’t right for Gabe, Troy rationalizes, b/c “what did he go over there and get his head blown off for” (if he can’t have freedom).

Troy has been waiting for Cory to help him finish the fence around the yard.  But Cory has been practicing football after school.  Cory announces to his parents a recruiter is coming to see him soon, and needs his Troy’s signature to sign him up (to play for a college in North Carolina).  Rose is very proud of her son, but Troy is skeptical.

Chris Chalk (Cory)

We learn that Troy has gotten a position as a driver, so he won’t be working in the back of the garbage truck w/ Bono anymore.  (Driving positions usually went to white men.)  When Bono points out that Troy can’t drive yet, Troy shoots back: “Everyone doesn’t gotta know my business!”  He’ll learn how to drive before it’s time for him to take up the new position.  Lyons comes by w/ good news- he has a steady gig at a good club.  Troy’s surprised when Lyons offers to give him back the $10 he borrowed.   When he invites his father to come hear him, Troy refuses by saying “I’m too old to be going to clubs.”           

Cory is desperate for his father to understand; he names different athletes (including blacks and Jews) who have excelled in baseball.  Troy bitterly tells Cory that he’s more stupid than he thought, and that there’s no future in sports for a black man.  Troy is enraged when Cory tells him that he’s quit his job at the A&P to concentrate on football.  Father and son square-off, and it looks like they will come to blows!

To learn what happens, go read (or see) the play! 

 

THEMES

Baseball is one of the themes of the play.  On stage right, a ball of rags is tied to a branch.  Both Troy and Cory practice swinging at the ball at the start of the play.  Later on, when the father and son argue, the bat will be turned on Troy – though Troy will ultimately win in that confrontation.  At the end of Act One, he warns his son: “You swung and you missed. That’s strike one. Don’t you strike out!”

Troy was a great baseball player, at least according to his friend Bono.  Although he played for the Negro Leagues, he was not allowed to on the white teams.   The success of Jackie  Robinson and other black players is a touchy subject for Troy.  He never earned the recognition or the money which he felt he deserved – and discussion of professional sports will often send him into a tirade.  Though Rose insists that “you were too old,” Troy feels it was solely racism that kept him shut-out.

During Act Two of Fences,  he uses a baseball metaphor to explain why he had an affair:

I fooled them, Rose.  I bunted.  When I found you and Cory and a halfway decent job . . . I was safe.  Couldn’t nothing touch me. I wasn’t gonna strike out no more.  I wasn’t going back to the penitentiary.  I wasn’t gonna lay in the streets with a bottle of wine.  I was safe.  I had me a family.  A job.  I wasn’t gonna get that last strike.  I was on first looking for one of them boys to knock me in.  To get me home.  …then when I saw that gal . . . she firmed up my backbone.  And I got to thinking that if I tried . . . I just might be able to steal second.  Do you understand after eighteen years I wanted to steal second?

Father-son relationships are very crucial in Fences.  On the stage, the emotionally strained relationship between Troy (who’s based on August Wilson’s stepdad) and Cory is highlighted.  At one point, Corey asks “Why don’t you like me?”  Troy is amused by this question, and retorts w/ “I don’t have to like you!”  Troy goes on to say that he gives his son food, a roof over his head, and provides for his life.  But Cory wants more from his father, but Troy is incapable of expressing that.     

But the unseen relationship of the play is the one between Troy and his father, who was a sharecropper in early 20th century Alabama.  Troy reveals secrets from his youth to Bono and Lyons in one (quietly powerful) scene.  After noting some of his father’s brutish behavior, Troy (who fled from home at 14) flatly calls him “The Devil.”  (Denzel really shines in this scene!) 

Freedom is another theme in Fences.  Several times Troy exclaims that he “needs to be free.”  But from what?  To the audience, he seems to have a lot going for him (at the opening of the play).  He has a supportive wife, talented sons, and a loyal best friend.  He’s struggling to make ends meet, but he’s NOT alone.  Everyone in the community is (of course) dealing w/ ingrained racism.  

As Troy’s character is revealed, we realize that he can NEVER be free of the one man he hates- his father.  Though Troy says he doesn’t behave like his old man, Troy is very hard on Cory.  When Cory gets angry and obstinate, Rose says w/ frustration: “You’re just like him!”  Perhaps we can never be free of our past, parents, and mistakes- they make up our character.     

THE ACTING

With such a stellar cast, the acting could NOT be anything but top-notch!  Denzel hit JUST the right notes w/ his role; he made Troy a believable (yet flawed) character.  With this type of character, some actors could go over-the-top, but Denzel keeps it grounded.  Troy is a complicated man, though HE would never admit to that.  He is charming, funny, sarcastic, hard-headed, etc. just like all of us.  But he DOES NOT analyze his actions; that’s just NOT his way.

Viola Davis’ role grows as the play goes on.  She does a terrific job in portraying Rose, a woman of great character and integrity.  We sense that Rose could’ve done much better for herself, given her sensibility and sensitivity, but she stuck with Troy out of love/passion/loyalty.  She invested a lot in their relationship, and is DEEPLY hurt when it breaks.  But, above all, Rose is a survivor, and Viola Davis suits this role to a tee.  There is no sense of acting.      

Related Links

Official site (w/ a GREAT NYT video interview)

http://www.fencesonbroadway.com./index.html

Denzel finds his “voice” in Fences

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126195963

About playwright August Wilson:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Wilson

2 short interviews w/ Denzel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKsDRcuePnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edtA7NapVKY

“Mad Men” (Seasons 1 & 2)

Emma3 Comments
The cast of "Mad Men" (AMC)
The cast of ensemble drama “Mad Men” (AMC)

My little sister watches this show, so I decided to check it out.  (She’s usually in the know about what’s cool.)  Another reason to see Mad Men is Elisabeth Moss (known to many as President Bartlett’s youngest daughter, Zoe, on The West Wing).  Elisabeth’s character, Peggy Olson, starts out as a cheerful/eager/naive secretary at the start of Season 1.  Like the viewer, she doesn’t know what to expect from Sterling Cooper (the ad agency that is the main setting of the show).

Peggy Olson- always watching & learning
Peggy Olson- always watching & learning

Women esp. will empathize w/ Peggy, a young woman who experiences workplace harassment (it’s the early ’60s after all), romantic disappointment, and disillusionment on her way to becoming a copywriter (in Season 2).  She brings to mind the compromises, trials, and sacrifices faced by early feminists, though Peggy NEVER calls herself a feminist.  Peggy works hard and wins the trust/confidence/respect of boss, Don Draper (Jon Hamm).

The unflappable Roger Sterling
The unflappable Roger Sterling

After Peggy, my fave character is Roger Sterling (played by TV/theater veteran John Slattery).  Roger, a partner in the firm, is an “old-school” guy- charming, confident, and a heavy drinker (w/o any guilt, he comments).  He usually has a twinkle in his eye, enjoying work and life to the fullest.  I particularly enjoyed the few eps where Roger was worried about aging.

Don (Jon Hamm) & Betty (January Jones)
Don & Betty

Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) & Pete (Vincent Kartheiser)

Don Draper (Jon Hamm) w/ bohemian Midge (Rosemarie Dewitt)

Don w/ businesswoman Rachel

Though many people have commented on Don’s hot & heavy romance w/ Midge, I thought the storyline w/ him and Rachel was MORE interesting.  She is a successful/single/lonely businesswoman who is a client of Sterling Cooper (in Season 1).   Don doesn’t want to work w/ her at first, but soon becomes intrigued by her perserverence.  Though Rachel is wealthy, she is an “outsider” b/c of her Jewish heritage.   Don falls deeply in love w/ her, and tells her secrets about his life.  (Unfortunately, I didn’t see this ep!)   He’s (visibly) shocked when he sees Rachel w/ her new hubby (Season 2).

 

Jon Hamm in "People" mag (2007)
Jon Hamm in “People” mag (2007)

I watched a FEW interviews w/ Jon Hamm; he comes across as a VERY polite/sweet/unassuming actor.  He said he wears glasses and prefers his hair longer than Don’s in real life.  I watched Jon (a few yrs ago) as a sensitive detective on the Lifetime drama, The Division.  After a LONG struggle in Hollywood, this actor has made it BIG!

From Parade mag
From “Parade” mag

Hamm “has this wonderful sadness and lost quality in his eyes,” said director Alan Taylor. “It’s a rare quality for a strapping leading man.”  Leave your political correctness at the door, and tune in for Season 3 of Mad Men on SUN night!

 

Related Links:

An extensive Vanity Fair article: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/09/mad-men200909?printable=true&currentPage=all

Basket of Kisses: a Mad Men fan site

http://www.lippsisters.com/

A comprehensive Jon Hamm fan site:

http://www.jon-hamm.com/

“Jungle Fever” (1991)

Emma1 Comment

 jungle fever_dvd

This is my favorite Spike Lee film (aside from Malcolm X); I’ve seen it several times.  Lee’s premise for making this film: romantic relationships between blacks and whites are (sometimes) based more on curiosity than love.   He didn’t make the central couple (black architect Flipper Purefoy and Italian American temp Angie Tucci) very interesting, Roger Ebert said in his TV review.  However, the people in the communities they come from are VERY well done, he complimented.  I agree with Ebert b/c I wanted to know more re: the lesser characters! 

Flipper (Wesley Snipes) lives in a Harlem brownstone w/ his statuesque biracial wife Dru, a buyer for Nordstrom (Lonette McKee) and young daughter.  In the opener, he seems to have a loving relationship w/ Dru and his little girl (who he walks to school in the mornings).  A source of stress is his job- he’s the only black architect in his firm. 

Flipper (Wesley Snipes) & Angie (Annabella Sciorra)

Flipper is visibly upset when his former secretary (a black woman) is replaced by a white temp, Angie (Annabella Sciorra).  “I specifically asked for a woman of color!”  Flipper exclaims to one of his bosses (played by Tim Robbins).  Even though things start out awkward, Flipper and Angie have a good working relationship.  They often work late, share takeout, and get to know each other.  One night, Flipper catches Angie admiring his dark skin.  She says “it’s beautiful.”  Though he has NEVER cheated on his wife, they begin an affair (right on the drafting table)! 

Gator (Sam Jackson) & Viv (Halle Berry)

Flipper eventually confesses to his best pal/upstairs neighbor Cyrus (played by Lee himself) that though he considers himself “a strong black man,” he was “curious about what it would be like” to be with a white woman.  As they are talking, Flipper’s older brother Gator (Samuel L. Jackson) and his girlfriend Viv (a very young and unglamorous Halle Berry) approach.  It’s obvious that Gator is a long-time crack addict, as is his “new lady.”  (Sam Jackson said that his OWN drug addiction in the ’80s helped him portray Gator in a VERY realistic manner.  Producers thought Jackson was a REAL crack addict when he did his screen test, so he had to come in AGAIN to explain it was just acting.)

jungle fever_gator
Lucinda Purefoy (Ruby Dee) can’t refuse giving her addict son money when he comes around, no matter how hard she tries.  Gator invents lame excuses to get a few bucks out of her whenever his father is not around.  The father, a VERY religious man called The Good Reverend Doctor (Ossie Davis) has cast Gator out “like the Devil.”  (I REALLY felt for the mother and her dilemna; if she didn’t give Gator money, he’d surely go out and steal it.)
Paulie (John Turturro) ponders his future

My favorite character is candy shop/newsstand manager Paulie Carbone (John Turturro).  He’s a hardworking/unassuming guy who dated Angie since high school (“b/c he’s from the neighborhood.”)  His overbearing/widower father (Anthony Quinn) has retired from the shop, but micro-manages everything his son does.  Paulie has a crush on Lauren, a young black executive who comes to the store for papers each morning.  She sees him as a friend, and encourages him to apply to Brooklyn College.  The unemployed/Italian American/racist local guys who frequent his store think of all this as a joke.  Paulie is an outsider in his environment, and you wonder if he can get the life he wants.         

junglefever

On one date, Angie asks Flipper “So what are we doing here?”  I think they’re taking a break from their everyday lives.  But their actions have consequences- Dru (along w/ her girlfriends) is VERY upset by her husband’s betrayal.  Angie’s father reacts w/ shocking violence.  After the famous girl-talk session (about color, dating, black  men, etc.), Dru quietly tells her pals: “It really doesn’t matter what color she is- my man is gone.”   

The main characters in Jungle Fever feel unappreciated, I noticed during this viewing.   Angie works all day, then cooks her for father and brothers w/o complain.  Paulie has put his dreams on hold to look after his father and the shop.  Flipper doesn’t get the promotion, so he resigns from his job.  Lee (who grew up in Bensonhurst when it had a large community of working-class Italian Americans) shows us that two people are NOT the only ones involved in a realtionship.  Personal relationships include family, friends, and (sometimes) the community-at-large.  Everyone has SOMETHING to say about Flipper and Angie’s affair, including an angry young waitress at a soul food restaurant (Queen Latifah in a brief, yet memorable, role). 

3 must-see period films

Emma1 Comment

Lost in Austen (BBC, 2008)

lost_dvd

This show (seen last year on BBC) is a MUST-SEE for all Jane Austen fans!  It has a great cast (including gorgeous/talented new faces), looks beautiful (costumes, cinematography, lighting), and is full of humor.  There are jokes viewers of ALL ages will get, BUT there are also in-jokes for devoted fans of Jane.  (I liked those jokes best, of course!)

Amanda (Jemima Rooper) and Elizabeth (Jemma Arterton)

Amanda Price is a modern-day JA fan who enters into her fave novel, Pride and Prejudice.  She takes the place of P&P’s main protagonist Elizabeth Bennett.  But life in Georgian England is NOT as easy as it seems in the book!

The newest Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan)

Amanda meets the the entire P&P gang, plus a few NEW characters (Mr. Collins has brothers- LOL!)  Alex Kingston (ER) and Hugh Bonneville (Daniel Deronda, Miss Austen Regrets) are TERRIFIC as the Bennett parents.  

But the best part is Amanda’s complicated relationship w/ the newest Mr. Darcy!  As in the novel, Darcy is tall, imposing, and irritatingly proper.  (His voice is VERY cool, too!)  At first, he is shocked by Amanda’s (modern/odd) behavior.  She doesn’t want to fall for Darcy- she wants to keep  things EXACTLY like the novel.  But things quickly go wrong!     

eliot

An interview w/ Elliot Cowan:

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article4635114.ece

 

 

Middlemarch (BBC, 1994) 

middlemarch_dvd

I bought this DVD a few weeks ago b/c it was a VERY good price.  (If you’re a fan of Austen or Dickens, you should definitely check it out!)  It’s a miniseries based on George Eliot’s most famous novel.  She (the pen name of George was in honor of her long-time love, George Henry Lewes) was a writer who could describe a wide swath of society, much like Dickens.  There are MANY interesting/young people trying to carve out a place in the world w/o compromising their dreams.  (These include Jonathan Firth, Colin’s younger brother, and the unusually handsome/intense Rufus Sewell.) 

Dorothy (Juliet Aubrey)

The main female character is intelligent, serious-minded, natural beauty Dorothea Brooke (Juliet Aubrey).  She and her younger sister Cecilia (a more conventional girl) were orphaned before their teens, so they live on the estate of their wealthy bachelor uncle, Mr. Brooke.  (The estate is near to the town of Middlemarch.)  Though she has many fine qualities, Dorothea wants to “do something more” w/ her life than what’s expected of a young woman of her time.  She draws up a plan for improving the cottages of Brooke’s tenants, but he doesn’t want to spend money on the project.   

Even though her youthful/outgoing neighbor (Sir James Chettam) is in love with her, Dorothea merely sees him as a friend.  But she quickly grows interested in Rev. Casuabon, a VERY serious/middle-aged/scholarly man.  Dorothea thinks that she can help him in his work.   They have a brief courtship before marrying, much to the disappointment of her family/friends.   

During most of their honeymoon in Italy, Casuabon buries himself in libraries while Dorothea sees the sights with handsome/young Will Ladislaw (Casuabon’s cousin).  Will paints for fun, but wants to find a profession where he can make an impact.

Middlemarch9

Back home, Dorothea is impressed by the painting of a beautiful lady hanging in her house.  Will tells her the story of the unconventional romance between his British grandfather and Polish grandmother (in the picture).  Sadly, the lady wasn’t treated very well by her in-laws.  As he tells it, she is full of quiet amazement at the idea of such a relationship.  (We KNOW Dorothea hasn’t married for love.)     

Casuabon is emotionally distant and refuses his young wife’s help w/ scholarly work.  Dorothea desperately wants to make him happy, but she grows disenchanted with the cold, lonely marriage.  But she never complains. 

Will, who begins work as her uncle’s assistant, continues to see her as a friend.  Casuabon suddenly prohibits Will from coming to his house.  Dorothea is shocked- they did nothing wrong!   Did her husband sense something neither she nor Will can admit?              

Dr. Lydgate (Douglas Hodge)

The main male character is intelligent, ambitious, and worldly Dr. Tertius Lydgate (Douglas Hodge).  Unlike most of the others in the provincial town of Middlemarch, he is a well-trained MD (w/ specializations done in Scotland and Paris.)  Most docs of that day were NOTHING like ours!  Lydgate is a newcomer who elicits much attention- sometimes of the negative kind.  The other doctors bristle against his techniques (such as warning patients against wacky potions and refusing to operate when not needed).   They feel he’s too young to overstep them.

Like Dorothea, he gives part of his time to the poor.  (They become friends as the story goes along.)  Lydgate’s an idealist who hopes to create BIG changes.  In his personal life, he is quickly drawn to the vivacious and chatty Rosamund Vincy, the daughter of a tradesman.  They fall in love and marry, though he’d intended to wait until he was financially/professionally more stable.   Rosamund dreams of status and money, ignorant of the goals he has.  Will marriage curtail Lydgate’s ambitions?

A GREAT in-depth review of this film:

http://costumedramas.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/middlemarch-1994/

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)  movie_WindThatShakes

  We have a responsibility to attack the mistakes and brutalities of our own leaders, past and present.  If you lie about the past you won’t tell the truth about the present.– British director Ken Loach  playing

You may not have heard of this film that came on recently on Encore; I saw it first in the BBC catalog.  It’s a glimpse into the Irish war for independence in the early 1920s as seen through the eyes of a group of very young men in rural County Cork.  At the center of the group is idealistic/sensitive Damien O’Donovan (Cilian Murphy- a native of Cork; The Way We Live Now, Red Eye, Batman Begins) and his older/charismatic brother Teddy (Padraig Delaney).  Damien is soft-spoken, slightly built, and well-respected for his smarts.   Teddy is tall, talks forcefully, and a natural leader.    harassment

Though most of his scrappy country pals are IRA (led by Teddy), Damien is about to go to a London hospital for training.  Then he witnesses some humiliating, unnecessary, and violent events perpetrated by the Black and Tans (British soldiers sent to quash the growing rebellion).         damien_sinead

He takes up arms quickly- his community needs him.  Even Damien’s long-time female friend is part of the rebellion- she works as a messenger.      bros

This film juxstaposes the beauty of Ireland with the violence of the rebellion.   In some cases, long-time friends are pitted against each other b/c they have to preserve themselves.   Freedom is not the only issuse; in one scene Damien examines a little boy who’s near starvation.  How will this rag tag group of guys defeat the soldiers?  When a compromise is reached with England, Damien and Teddy are pitted against each other.  

More info re: this film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_That_Shakes_the_Barley_(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460989/   cillian

More info re: Cilian Murphy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilian_Murphy http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614165/

The Duchess

Emma4 Comments

duchess-closeup-21

A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who reviled for her extravagant political and personal life. She is a vibrant beauty and celebrity of her time. But she is trapped in an unhappy triangle with her husband and his live-in mistress. She falls passionately in love with an ambitious young politician, and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt into a scandal.  -IMDB synopsis

duchess-runs

Is it me, or are the movies (in general) becoming too simple, predictable, and just plain dull?  I’m not feeling strongly about most of the (mainstream) movies these days.  Many people I know feel the same, too.  However, I went last weekend to see two new films: The Duchess (with a group of ladies from NYBAP) and W (by myself; my mom saw it before me, and said it was interesting).  Though I wasn’t “wowed” by either of these movies, I recommend you see them (when they come out on DVD).  Below is a review of The Duchess; I will soon write about W as well. 

duchess-wed

There is no denying that Keira Knightley has a strikingly beautiful face; she reminds you of Brooke Shields as a very young woman.  She has gotten a lot of exposure, and grown as an actress since making a big splash as a teen tomboy in the Bend it like Beckham.  Not all the projects she’s chosen haven been hits, but I’m sure she’s learned a lot from them.  In The Duchess (based on actual events), Keira plays Georgiana, an independent-minded young lady who becomes the Duchess of Devonshire in 18th century England.  Her husband, the Duke, is played by Ralph Fiennes (his family is distantly related to British royalty).  He is always interesting to watch, both as a hero and villain.  Unfortunately, in the first half of the movie, he comes across as a rather cartoonish villain.  Subtlety is one of the main things missing from modern pictures!         

duchess-grp

G (as she is called by family and friends) goes from being a bubbly teen girl to a troubled married woman before you can say “corset.”  Her husband is nothing like a girl expects- he’s distant, uncommunicative, and has many affairs.  He becomes even colder when G fails to provide a (male) heir.  Her mother, played very well by Charlotte Rampling, says that women must bear many burdens.  (Divorce was very rare at that time.)

duchess-eliz1

G’s closest friend, Lady Elizabeth Eshton, is one of the bright spots in her life.  Hayley Atwell, who plays Lady Elizabeth, is a well-developed character who brings (much-needed) depth to this film.  She’s a “woman of the world” who has lived through many trials; she cares deeply for her friend.  While Keira is thin and light on her feet, Hayley is very curvaceous and earthy.  G is a wide-eyed “people-pleaser”; Lady Elizabeth is tougher.  She observes others closely with her small, dark, curious eyes.

duchess-lover

G, though unloved by her husband, becomes a popular fashion icon.  The hairdos, costumes, and (especially) jewels in this film are gorgeous.  She also gets involved in politics, supporting men like Lord Fox (who spoke against slavery, among other injustices).  A young lawyer, played by Dominic West, from G’s girlhood is Fox’s right-hand man.  He has strong feelings for G, even after several years apart.  G is torn between her duty (as wife, mother, high society figurehead, etc.) and desire to experience real love. 

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This film does a good job of re-creating 18th century high society and laying down the (often unspoken) rules of the day.  If you are familiar with that stuff (like me), then it won’t be a biggie to you.  (You’ll be bored, honestly!)  I felt sorry for Ralph Fiennes because he’s (obviously) capable of more subtle acting.  He was too much of a baddie in The Duchess; I don’t think many husbands of that day acted like the Duke.  (I won’t give it away, but he does some heinous stuff.)   There was an (obvious) lack of chemistry between Keira and Dominic; if you want to see real sparks of young love, check out Atonement.  Keira looks great with James McAvoy in that film; they feel like a real couple.  There are some bright moments here and there, like the (unusual) friendship between G and Lady Elizabeth.  The sets and scenery are fabulous, and there is a great moment of drama involving G and one of her children.  It wasn’t a great film, but it wasn’t a bad way to spend two hours.