Keira Knightley in period drama shocker! That’s right, the Oscar-nominated pouter* is set to play the Duchess of Devonshire in the imaginatively titled, The Duchess. Set in the 18th century, the film is based on the true story of celebrated English beauty Georgiana Spencer, who married an aristocrat and captivated an entire nation with her effortless sense of style. Bored? You will be. Here’s the trailer…
The premise is this: Georgiana (Knightley) is caught in a loveless marriage to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) born only of a desire to produce an heir; she tolerates the presence of her husband’s mistress and enchants the public with her glamour and heartfelt political campaigns; she wears big wigs. Wigs aside, the tale bears some resemblance to the life of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who was – genealogy fans will be interested to know – descended from Georgiana’s brother, the 2nd Earl Spencer.
So, back to the trailer… Knightley pouts a lot and runs. The end.
*That’s pouter as in mouth, not breed of pigeon. An Oscar-nominated pigeon would just be silly.
The Duchess will be released in September.
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