Movie Review: The Duchess (2008)

Genre: Historical Drama  

Director: Saul Dibb  

Starring: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper   

Running Time: 110 minutes  

Synopsis: In 1770s Britain, 17 year-old Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) weds the exceptionally wealthy William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), in a marriage arranged by her mother (Charlotte Rampling). It's a passionless union, with William not caring for Georgiana beyond his obsessive desire for a son. Georgiana distracts herself by getting involved in politics and befriending Lady Elizabeth Foster (Hayley Atwell), but William's shameless extra-marital affairs drive her to the arms of rising political star Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper).

What Works Well: Based on actual events, the fascinatingly turbulent story of a popular fashion icon trapped in a loveless marriage carries obvious parallels to her distant relative Diana. The adaptation of Amanda Foreman's book explores upper echelon societal tensions related to domestic roles and expected behaviours, and the different rules applied to men and women. Keira Knightley tests the limits of Georgina's reality with subtle glances and the occasional fire in her eyes. Even more impressive is Ralph Fiennes, deceptively understated as the Duke acts with the utmost certainty that his inherited privileges - male, wealth, title, influence - empower him to compromise on nothing. The lavish settings, attention-grabbing hairdos, and period wardrobes are augmented by an engaging Rachel Portman music score.  

What Does Not Work As Well: The attraction between Georgina and Charles Grey is only explained in terms of physical magnetism, and Dominic Cooper is provided with limited material to define Grey's stature. Similarly, Lady Foster's critical role in the Cavendish marriage sways with events rather through demonstrated character depth.

Key Quote:

Lady Foster: Well, as they say, the Duke of Devonshire must be the only man in England not in love with his wife.

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Movie Review: Dead Man Down (2013)

A revenge crime thriller, Dead Man Down benefits from a focus on characters and a suitably grim mood.

In New York City, Victor (Colin Farrell) and his partner Darcy (Dominic Cooper) are violent gang members, part of the crew run by crime boss Alphonse (Terrence Howard). However, while pretending to be a loyal foot soldier, Victor is also on a secret and personal revenge mission, seeking retribution against Alphonse for the murder of his wife and child two years earlier.

Victor meets his neighbour Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), who lives with her mother (Isabelle Huppert). Beatrice was the victim of an accident caused by a drunk driver that left her with permanent facial scars. Having witnessed Victor commit a murder in his apartment, she demands that he kill the drunk driver, who got away with a light sentence. With Darcy investigating who is behind the threats against Alphonse, Victor has to quickly advance his complex retribution and satisfy Beatrice before his cover is blown.

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev, Dead Man Down is better than it needed to be. Oplev restricts the action set pieces to just a few punchy moments at the start, middle, and end, and keeps them short if a bit muddled in execution. Plenty of room is therefore created for a complex double revenge plot to unfurl from the middle outwards, and the characters of Victor and Beatrice occupy centre stage.

The story of Victor plotting an elaborate payback contains a compelling backstory and a patient build-up, while Beatrice is an intriguing woman, scarred physically but more deeply damaged emotionally. The two combine to create an unusually provocative duo with overlapping objectives. When the inevitable relationship evolves between them, their rage is also cast in a new light.

None of which is to say that Dead Man Down doesn't contain glaring faults. Gangster stereotypes and narrative shortcuts litter the screen, plot holes waltz through the film, and New York City is somehow suddenly devoid of law enforcement. Early in the story a gangland massacre takes place, with an exchange of gunfire worthy of a war zone, and yet none of the perpetrators are ever remotely bothered by any sort of investigation.

Oplev skips past the shortcomings with an appealing dark aesthetic, many of the scenes taking place at dusk or later, with dark blues and artificial lighting complementing the underworld milieu. And the quality of the cast also helps to ride out the weaker moments. Colin Farrell's generally expressionless persona is well suited to the secretive and scheming Victor, while Noomi Rapace matches Farrell with her sense of determined despondency. Isabelle Huppert as Beatrice's mostly deaf mother adds depth to Beatrice's domesticity. Veterans Armand Assante and F. Murray Abraham have small supporting roles.

A reasonably potent mix of action and layered plot, Dead Man Down enjoys more ups than downs.

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