The Duchess (2008)

I did not expect to like this costume drama, because, as I mentioned in my post about about Atonement (2007), Keira Knightley irks me. However, spending a couple of hours with Ms. K, whose performance the LA Times deems Oscar-worthy, was entertaining enough that I didn't check the time nor the phone. The mile-high (and -wide) wigs should be getting a nomination, but probably won't, as hair and make-up are in the same category, and flashy prostheses usually trump elaborate hairdos. Hat-o-philes will enjoy the headgear, each one bigger than the next. The elegant locations, indoors and out, were also worth the price of admission -- I particularly liked the scene near the waterfall -- beautiful! Ralph Fiennes was detestable (by which I mean convincing as a detestable man) as the cold jerk of a husband, the Duke of Devonshire. Hayley Atwell, of Brideshead Revisited (2008) and Cassandra's Dream (2007) was luscious as Elizabeth Foster, and Charlotte Rampling (where do I start? Her resumé is long and rich. I must mention Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980), the truly wonderful costume drama Wings of the Dove (1997), and Swimming Pool (2003)) was a force of maternal power.

The real Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Spencer, was an ancestor of Princess Diana, and the comparisons are inevitable: trend-setting, an adoring public, wit, warmth, and joie de vivre.