Street Style

Feathers, flirting and flouncing make for an enjoyable period piece with a surprising amount of funny one-liners. Just beware; your lips may become more pronounced than usual as you watch this film…

I fear that Derek Zoolander’s days as numero uno Blue Steel pouter may be numbered if Keira Knightley and her jaw-jutting purse have anything to say about it. If you thought her jaw and pout took their fair share of film time in Bend it Like Beckham, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Atonement, and Love Actually, then wait till you see Knightley’s current film, The Duchess. The main cast list should read ‘Ralph Fiennes, Keira Knightley and her Pout.’ It’s a doozy and no movie seems safe from the moist grasp of the super-pout.

But aside from Keira and her supersonic lip-purse, it is actually a rather good film. The cinematography is decadent and luscious, and very visually engaging. Set design is benchmark stuff, the grand house in London and the manor in Bath are ridiculously opulent. The costumes and wigs are delectable and totally over the top for all. One character’s wig particularly engaging by looking like a white miniature poodle was humping his head.

This film is based on a true story and follows the life of Georgiana Spencer (Knightley) a great and charming lady in the 18^th century England. Lady Diana Spencer, the late Princess of Wales, is a direct descendant of Georgiana and in a haunting irony their stories are quite similar and equally sad.

Georgiana is someone you would love to adopt as a best girlfriend. She is fun, flirty, loves life’s frivolities and sets the fashion world on fire. When Georgiana is betrothed to the Duke of Devonshire, played by the wonderfully numb Ralph Fiennes, she mistakenly believes it is because he loves her. In fact, the aging Duke is desperate for an heir and Georgiana’s mother guarantees her daughter will bear him a son.

While the rest of England falls at her feet in adoration, her husband is immune to all her feminine powers and only seeks intimacy when trying to produce an heir. Two daughters and much heartache follows including a bizarre love triangle, true love lost, a wig on fire and the ultimate sacrifice.

As a female, I felt quite melancholy by the end of the film, particularly watching how the women characters were treated as nothing much more than pretty trifles and mobile homes for growing foetuses. However overall, the film resonated with my feminine sensibilities and I urge those in search of light entertainment to scurry along to see The Duchess before Keira’s jaw becomes so jutted there’ll be no room left in the cinema.