The Duchess

In the late eighteenth century Georgiana Cavendish is married to the Duke of Devonshire. She becomes the most famous society figure and political campaigner of her age, while at home her husband's mistress lives under the same roof and her one duty is to produce a male heir. It comes from Amanda Foreman's 1998 biography. Keira Knightley plays Georgiana and Ralph Fiennes the Duke, and his performance is what keeps the film out of villain cliché. He is not cruel; he is simply enforcing the rules of his century, which is worse. The marketing caused an argument. Drawing parallels to Princess Diana, a distant relation, was widely criticised, and Knightley objected to digitally altered promotional images and rejected the Diana comparison in interviews. Michael O'Connor won the Academy Award for costume design, the film was also nominated for art direction, and it took the BAFTA for costume too. On a 13.5 million pound budget it grossed 43.3 million dollars. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 62 percent; Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars while Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian called it exasperatingly bland and gave it two. Who it is for: viewers who love period drama and costume filmmaking. Who it is not for: anyone hoping the political thread develops. Georgiana's campaigning is deliberately kept in the background.