To be honest, the actors selected for this film are not very good-looking, and Keira's figure is also a little thin (could it be that the same is true of Georgiana in history?), but they are all in place. The nervousness and unease of the candle night in Georgiana's bridal chamber reminded me of a similar description in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. Whether born as humble as an illegitimate daughter Marianne or as noble as a duchess, they are equally helpless in front of a ruthless and domineering husband. With fame and interests in power, freedom and love have always been a luxury for aristocrats, not to mention being a woman! Georgiana forbeared for so many years, but she didn't get the slightest fairness. She has always been the duke's reproductive machine, and the care she received is not as good as his two dogs. She never gave up the struggle, but every time she compromised with tears of humiliation. A biological mother's first consideration is never her happiness. Why didn't the mother come here step by step with humiliation and burden? It's just that her marriage was luckier than her daughter's. Even though the Duchess's determination to pursue freedom and happiness is so strong that she wants to go all out, her instinctive motherhood still makes her choose to continue to forbear. This is women. Too many fetters make it difficult for them to be as determined and ruthless as men. For the sake of their children, both Georgiana and Beth, the third party, chose to sacrifice to the maximum.
The scene of Georgiana sending her lover Gray away at the door of her house was already disheartening; the pain of handing over the child to old Gray was almost a dying struggle. Gray saw through her loneliness, but did not have enough power to set her free, and the Duke repeatedly ruined her happiness, not completely without guilt. In the face of the cruel reality, freedom and happiness are nothing but a mirror, and in the end, you have to continue to force a smile, show off under the envious eyes of everyone, and regain the honor of the queen of fashion.
Is she really happy with her infinite beauty? But what about being unhappy? At least she still has lovely children, talent and wisdom, a comfortable life, and is already much luckier than many women.
Watching "The Duchess" was originally for entertainment, I thought it was a erotic costume show with empty content like Spider Woman's "The Peerless Queen", but I didn't expect it to be so distressing. When the Duke finally said a few decent words at the end of the credits, Georgiana cried, and so did I. A man's indifference may not be enough to make women cry, but thoughtful words, because they are too hard to hear, make people feel more sad. Some people say that the Duke's change is too sudden, but it's not true. His sentence "How wonderful to be that free!" is definitely the finishing touch, without any pretense. The duke's unrestricted performance portrayed a domineering, stubborn and indifferent nobleman in a penetrating manner. He said that he loved her in his own way. I don't know if it was true or not. It's a pity that the two people were completely out of tune. Neither of her charms was appreciated by him, which created a typical tragedy of a marriage of interest. Even the Duke, who is in control of everything, has many helpless things.
Some people say that this is a vulgar and superficial movie, but I think the opposite is true. Maybe it is not a novel story, but it tells the hard choices of women who are not free for generations and generations, and the deep and heavy forbearance behind their choices. and sorrow.
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