The Duchess

Play trailer

2:19

The Duchess

PG-13,

2008,

1h 49m,

History/

Drama/

Romance/

Mystery & Thriller/

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

The Duchess: Trailer 1

Now Playing

View more videos

Stream Now

Watchlist

62%

170 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

170 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Though adored by the people, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) is not content to sit as a pretty figurehead. Determined to be a major player in affairs of state, she rises to the forefront of the Whig Party and helps usher in reform in late-1700s England. The one thing it seems she cannot do is win the heart of her husband (Ralph Fiennes).

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Stream

Rent The Duchess on Fandango, or buy it on Fandango.

Critics Consensus

While The Duchess treads the now-familiar terrain of the corset-ripper, the costumes look great and Keira Knightley's performance is stellar in this subtly feminist, period drama.

Read Critics Reviews

Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Aug 23, 2018

This is meant to be Ms Knightley's film, and in many ways it is. She is in every frame, looks dazzling throughout, and must act with something behind the eyes because in two of her scenes... I welled up rather seriously.

Go to Full Review

Claudia Puig

USA Today

Oct 18, 2008

3/4

It chronicles the saga of a vibrant and forward-thinking woman hampered by the constraints of a rigid society.

Go to Full Review

Tasha Robinson

Chicago Tribune

Oct 18, 2008

2.5/4

It's disturbingly shallow, focused so tightly on one woman's feelings of repression and loneliness that it lacks any perspective on their causes.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Mar 20, 2024

3/4

As a probe into the sexual politics of eighteenth-century England, The Duchess effectively paints an unremitting portrait of how love and breeding greatly differed among the social elite.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sep 19, 2021

3/4

Hands Keira Knightley another plum leading role and serves as yet another example of how Ralph Fiennes' brooding brand of acting can be successfully employed for all manner of characters.

Go to Full Review

James Croot

The Post NZ

Aug 4, 2021

4/5

The film's real scene-stealer is Fiennes... Despite playing a cad of few words, he manages to elicit both hatred and sympathy from the audience in equal amounts.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Apr 16, 2019

It's hard to like the main charachters so you kinda dont care what happens to them.

Poe L

Jan 25, 2019

Period films have one of three functions: to show us how things were once better, to show us how things were once worse, and to tell us something about our contemporary society. This one is arguably the second, but is actually the latter. Whether you agree that the problem is men, or society, or male society, there is and are only one victim - the girls. And this film hammers that message home like all our lives depend on it. Even women who betray one another are victims. And so in this era of what De Beauvoir might have retermed The First Sex we get this chocolate box monstrosity. A star for the score and half a star for some of the acting (Knightley not dreadful for once, but nothing for Fiennes, who dials in his usual tight-lipped performance, and Cooper who has gracefully sunk into oblivion since The History Boys).

See more

Leia W

Jan 11, 2019

Knightley gave an affecting performance as her probable best yet while gesturing towards genuine subtle feminism, along with Fiennes performing nicely though instigating the unresolved male privilege effects as a counter comment that had roughen the artistically not-so-distant fact-based melodramatic atmosphere. (B) (Full review TBD)

See more

Kylo R

Dec 25, 2018

One of those films that makes you jump down a Wikipedia hole straight afterwards to find out how much of it really happened. Very evocative of the aristocratic society of the time - very good.

See more

Hagrid W

Apr 13, 2018

If you watched the trailer, you have seen almost the entire movie. The Duchess was extremely similar to Anna Karina in terms of storyline. Anna Karina's artistic approach completely elevated the movie for me. The Duchess lacked anything special and fell flat for me.

See more

Hermione L

Apr 11, 2018

Lukewarm on the movie because of the crazy immorality that I am sure was reality. Outstanding costumes and sets, well acted.

See more

Read all reviews

Saul Dibb

Director

Keira Knightley

Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire

Ralph Fiennes

The Duke of Devonshire

Charlotte Rampling

Lady Spencer

Dominic Cooper

Charles Grey

Hayley Atwell

Bess

The Way Back

73%

72%

The Way Back

Watchlist

Made in Dagenham

80%

75%

Made in Dagenham

Watchlist

Rabbit Hole

86%

72%

Rabbit Hole

Watchlist

Albert Nobbs

56%

48%

Albert Nobbs

Watchlist

Brick Lane

68%

60%

Brick Lane

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

23 Fresh Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix in April

Now Streaming: Transformers: Age of Extinction, Chef, and More

People’s Choice Awards Winners Announced

The Duchess: Trailer 1

2:19

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Though adored by the people, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) is not content to sit as a pretty figurehead. Determined to be a major player in affairs of state, she rises to the forefront of the Whig Party and helps usher in reform in late-1700s England. The one thing it seems she cannot do is win the heart of her husband (Ralph Fiennes).

Director: Saul Dibb
Producer: Gabrielle Tana, Michael Kuhn
Screenwriter: Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen, Saul Dibb
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Magnolia Mae, Pathé, Paramount Vantage, Qwerty Films, BBC Films
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content|Brief Nudity|Thematic Material)
Genre: History, Drama, Romance, Mystery & Thriller, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.8M
Runtime: 1h 49m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings