The Duchess

Keira Knightley stars as Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire and the original social celebrity of late-18th century Britain. Bartered off to a powerful aristocrat (Ralph Fiennes, all chilly apathy) as a teenage girl, it would seem she hit it big. But he only thinks of her as a social ornament and breeder of heirs, oblivious to her talents, her smarts and her social savvy, and mystified by her issues with his numerous affairs. Echoes of Lady Diana cannot be avoided in this story of her ancestor, but the film is all gorgeous surfaces (the pomp of high society, grand mansions and marvelous finery) with no depth, and Knightley is girlish and radiant instead of poised and practiced. Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell co-star, and Saul Dibb directs. Includes featurettes on the making of the film, on the historical background of Georgiana Spencer, and on the film's costumes.