Keira Knightley is the star of “The Duchess,” but perhaps the real star power is exerted by the frilly costumes, massive wigs, grand country houses and pastoral landscapes that make late 18th-century England seem like a dandy place to be a dandy.
This costume picture is worth every pound of the ticket price when it comes to providing the period detail. It’s not quite as mesmerizing in terms of its tale about Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, who asserted herself as a woman in what was very much an Englishman’s world.
Although the prototypical feminism is like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy drawing room, it often feels as if this character representing an actual 18th-century woman is more the product of 21st-century filmmaking sensibilities. You could get a good argument going in the parlor as to whether viewers think this history lesson seems authentic or amounts to therapeutic history.
Good movies have a way of leading to just such good arguments, but “The Duchess” may not make a strong enough impression to spark more than a mild discussion. Maybe the reason is that the terrific potential of the title role isn’t fully realized by Keira Knightley. She’s beautiful, demonstrates a spectrum of emotions and basically seems up to the role, and yet she lacks the ability to completely bring out the deep emotions called for here.
The script admittedly doesn’t help her much, because the scenes depicting Georgiana’s bold ventures into the male domain of politics don’t push very deeply into this intriguing subject.
If a great actress in this role would be the emotionally powerful center of attention, Knightley too often seems like she’s a fashion model showing off those swell dresses. Fortunately, there are two other principal actors who know how to hold an audience’s attention.
Georgiana grows up on a comfortable estate overseen by her domineering mother, Lady Spencer (Charlotte Rampling), and that actress has the sort of severe beauty and spine of steel to make you fully believe that mom will be a tough negotiator when it’s time to marry off Georgiana.
Love was not a marital consideration in their social circle, because it made more sense to strike a deal involving money and the ability to bear male children. The Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) is a very cold middle-aged man who assumes the young Georgiana will do her marital duty and produce a male heir. Alas, she initially proves better at giving birth to daughters than sons.
Fiennes is wonderfully disagreeable as the Duke, and it’s worth watching the movie just to see whether he’ll ever reveal a more gentle and vulnerable side. Although this character would not seem to be capable of much nuance, Fiennes gives such a tightly controlled performance that you watch the Duke’s every gesture closely.
Knightley’s adequate acting pales by comparison with Fiennes’ formidable skill, throwing the film a bit off balance. You’re meant to be on Georgiana’s side, of course, and there’s no denying that the Duke exhibits monstrously callous behavior; however, this mean aristocrat is brought so vividly to life by Fiennes that he seems like the more interesting character of the two.
The strained relationship between the Duke and Duchess only grows more distant as they both indulge in extramarital affairs going on in mansions so vast that every wing can accommodate a soap opera of its own.
All that fooling around makes for an entertaining story, and the filmmakers certainly wouldn’t mind if you make connections between these 18th-century affairs and the fact that Georgiana was the great-great-great-great-aunt of another assertive woman, Diana, the Princess of Wales. That’s a lot more greatness than you’ll find in the movie itself. Grade: B-

“The Duchess” (PG-13) opens Friday, Oct. 10 at area theaters.

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