The Duchess (film)
Encyclopedia
The Duchess is a 2008 British drama film based on Amanda Foreman's
biography of the 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
. It was released in September 2008 in the UK. Originally to be directed by Susanne Bier
, The Duchess was directed by Saul Dibb
.
. While her beauty and fashion made her famous, extravagance and gambling made her infamous. She is married to the cold and much older William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire
. Despite the Duke's blatant infidelities, Georgiana becomes a fashion icon, a doting mother, a shrewd political operator, and darling of the common people. Reeling from her husband's affair with her best friend, Lady Bess Foster
, Georgiana takes on her own lover, the future prime minister Earl Grey
, with whom she gives birth to a child in secret, Eliza Courtney
.
and Pathé
. The Duchess was filmed at Twickenham Film Studios
and on location at Chatsworth
, Bath, Holkham Hall
, Clandon Park
, Kedleston Hall
, Somerset House
and the Old Royal Naval College
in Greenwich.
Regarding lead actress Keira Knightley
, director
Saul Dibb
said The Duchess was "a chance to take a character from late childhood – she's married at 17 – into full adulthood, 10 years later." It was also a chance for Knightley to work with Ralph Fiennes
, whom she regarded as one of her most accomplished co-stars to date; Dibb said, "When I said, 'We've got Ralph interested in playing the Duke', we both took a gulp and went, 'F---.' ... But I didn't for one second feel that she wasn't up to the task."
, who was an indirect descendant of Georgiana's. The ad used slogans such as "two women related by ancestry and united by destiny" and even used "There were three people in her marriage", the latter being an almost identical copy of a famous quote that Diana, Princess of Wales uttered during her infamous Panorama
interview. Michael Hellicar of the Daily Mail
stated that "the Diana link is being so heavily, and it has to be said, so cynically and crudely promoted."
Amanda Foreman
, author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, criticised the marketing strategy too, saying "They probably thought the only way to get the young popcorn-eating brigade to see the film was if they thought it was about Diana, but it wasn't necessary and they should never have done that. And the line 'united by destiny' is wrong. I don't think Georgiana actually died in a carriage crash."
, which is "delivered through Georgiana's screams of protest, heard from outside the bedroom door." The BBFC's PG rating allows implied sex as long as it is discreet and infrequent; the board decided that the scene in The Duchess is more than "discreet" or "implied". The film had its world premiere on 3 September 2008, in Leicester Square
and was released nationwide in the United Kingdom on 5 September.
based on 142 reviews, with the consensus that "Keira Knightley squeezes into a corset again, and pulls off another worthy performance in this sumptuous and emotional period drama, that serves parallels to the Duchess's descendant Princess Diana." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian
wrote that "Dibb's movie looks good" [however] "exasperatingly bland and slow-moving at all times" handing out a 2 of 5 star rating. However, Paul Hurley gave the film 8/10 and called The Duchess "an excellent new film" and states that "The Duchess stands a good chance of taking home some very big prizes at the end of the year".
Most reviewers have highly praised Knightley and Fiennes' performances. Time Out London wrote: "[Saul Dibb] is also helped enormously by a mature, restrained portrayal from Knightley, a masterclass in passive aggression from Fiennes and a performance of tender seduction from Atwell." The Epoch Times
writes, "Ralph Fiennes brings a human quality to [the Duke] by avoiding any intent, exaggeration or ill will" and "Keira Knightley's performance gains new depth – she not only perfectly portrays a witty and feminine Georgiana early in the film, but also a caring mother, and an abandoned woman later on. Also remarkable in this role is Knightley's ability to portray the strengths, weaknesses, and the internal hurdles of Georgiana, as well as her internal contemplation." Film Ireland writes "It is a slow movie but it is well acted with Knightley and Fiennes suited to their roles, especially Fiennes who gives a formidable and powerful performance."
Cameron Baily, the co-chair of The Toronto International Festival comments; "The Duchess Of Devonshire, with Keira Knightley, which is a beautiful film and she gives a really mature performance. You're seeing her really turn into something beyond the kind of pretty face that we've seen her do already so well. But she's actually a very serious actress and she's turning into a great, great performer."
The film's costume designer Michael O'Connor
was nominated for, and won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design
and the Satellite Award for Best Costume Design
.
Amanda Foreman (biographer)
Amanda Lucy Foreman is a British/American biographer and historian.-Family:Her father was the renowned screenwriter and film producer Carl Foreman who had to move to England in order to work after being blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios during the McCarthyism of the 1950s...
biography of the 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , formerly Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, the 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her niece was Lady Caroline Lamb...
. It was released in September 2008 in the UK. Originally to be directed by Susanne Bier
Susanne Bier
Susanne Bier is a Danish film director best known for her feature films Brothers, After the Wedding and the Academy-Award-winning In a Better World.-Life and work:Susanne Bier was born to Jewish parents in Copenhagen, Denmark...
, The Duchess was directed by Saul Dibb
Saul Dibb
Saul Dibb is the British director of Bullet Boy, for which he was nominated for the Douglas Hickox Award, The Line of Beauty, and The Duchess. He is a graduate of the University of East Anglia.-Notes:...
.
Plot summary
Set in the late eighteenth century, The Duchess is based on the life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of DevonshireGeorgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , formerly Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, the 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her niece was Lady Caroline Lamb...
. While her beauty and fashion made her famous, extravagance and gambling made her infamous. She is married to the cold and much older William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, KG was a British aristocrat and politician. He was the eldest son of the William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire by his wife the heiress Lady Charlotte Boyle, suo jure Baroness Clifford of Lanesborough, who brought in considerable money and estates to...
. Despite the Duke's blatant infidelities, Georgiana becomes a fashion icon, a doting mother, a shrewd political operator, and darling of the common people. Reeling from her husband's affair with her best friend, Lady Bess Foster
Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , , is best known as an early woman novelist, and as the close friend of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire...
, Georgiana takes on her own lover, the future prime minister Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
, with whom she gives birth to a child in secret, Eliza Courtney
Eliza Courtney
Eliza Courtney was the 'natural'/illegitimate daughter of the Whig politician and future Prime Minister Charles Grey and the society beauty Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, while Georgiana was married to William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire.The Duchess was forced by her husband to relinquish...
.
Cast
- Keira KnightleyKeira KnightleyKeira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of DevonshireGeorgiana Cavendish, Duchess of DevonshireGeorgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , formerly Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, the 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her niece was Lady Caroline Lamb... - Ralph FiennesRalph FiennesRalph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
as William Cavendish, 5th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 5th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, KG was a British aristocrat and politician. He was the eldest son of the William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire by his wife the heiress Lady Charlotte Boyle, suo jure Baroness Clifford of Lanesborough, who brought in considerable money and estates to... - Hayley Atwell as Lady Elizabeth 'Bess' FosterElizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of DevonshireElizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , , is best known as an early woman novelist, and as the close friend of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire...
- Charlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCharlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
as Countess Spencer, wife to Earl SpencerJohn Spencer, 1st Earl SpencerJohn Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer was a British peer and politician.Spencer was born in 1734, at his family home, Althorp. He was the son of Hon. John Spencer and Georgiana Carolina Carteret , and a grandson of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland... - Dominic CooperDominic CooperDominic Edward Cooper is an English actor. He has worked in TV, film, theatre and radio, in productions including Mamma Mia!, The Duchess, The History Boys, and The Devil's Double.- Early life :...
as Charles Grey, 2nd Earl GreyCharles Grey, 2nd Earl GreyCharles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the... - Aidan McArdleAidan McArdleAidan McArdle is an Irish actor.McArdle was born in Dublin. He studied for an Arts degree at University College Dublin before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England....
as Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester... - Simon McBurneySimon McBurneySimon Montagu McBurney, OBE is an English actor, writer and director. He is the founder and artistic director of Théâtre de Complicité in England, now called Complicite.-Early life:...
as Charles James FoxCharles James FoxCharles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger... - Sebastian Applewhite as Augustus Clifford
- Calvin Dean as Devonshire House Servant;
- Emily JewellEmily JewellEmily Jewell is an English actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Jewell has appeared in Look Back in Anger and The Duchess of Malfi at the Twister Theatre Company. She also appeared in the film The Duchess.-Filmography:-External links:* at Spotlight...
as Nanny; - Richard McCabeRichard McCabeRichard McCabe is a Scottish actor.-Biography:Richard McCabe was born in Glasgow to a Scottish father and French mother . He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , where he won several awards. Following the early death of his father and his mother's re-marriage, he grew up in Sussex where...
as Sir James Hare; - Bruce MackinnonBruce MackinnonBruce Mackinnon is an actor who has appeared in various television programmes.Mackinnon was born in Esher, Surrey and was educated at Eton College, before studying drama at The University of Manchester...
as Sir Peter TeazleSir Peter TeazleSir Peter Teazle was a good British bred Thoroughbred racehorse, a Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland nine times, and carried on the sire line of Herod.- Breeding :...
actor; - Alistair PetrieAlistair PetrieAlistair Petrie is an English actor. In 2007 he has appeared in The Mark of Cain, The Whistleblowers and Cranford. As well as other TV work such as Emma and The Forsyte Saga: To Let, he has also appeared in the music video for "Bellissimo" by Ilya, directed by the Guard Brothers...
as Heaton; - Georgia KingGeorgia King-Career:King made her professional debut in Jane Eyre. She was nearly unable to play the role, however. "A week before the day she began filming, King felt stomach pains, then had her appendix rupture...
as Lady TeazleThe School for ScandalThe School for Scandal is a play written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on May 8, 1777.The prologue, written by David Garrick, commends the play, its subject, and its author to the audience...
actress; - Paul Daley as George Augustus Henry Cavendish, created 1st Earl of BurlingtonGeorge Cavendish, 1st Earl of BurlingtonGeorge Augustus Henry Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington , styled Lord George Cavendish before 1831, was a British politician.-Background:...
of the 2nd order or creation (a.k.a. Duke's brother).
Production
The Duchess is financed by BBC FilmsBBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
and Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
. The Duchess was filmed at Twickenham Film Studios
Twickenham Film Studios
Twickenham Film Studios is a film studio located in St Margarets, London, England used by many motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Dr. Ralph Jupp on the site of a former ice-rink. At the time of its original construction, it was the largest film studio in the...
and on location at Chatsworth
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
, Bath, Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...
, Clandon Park
Clandon Park
Clandon Park is an 18th century Palladian mansion in West Clandon just outside Guildford, Surrey, in the United Kingdom. It has been a National Trust property since 1956....
, Kedleston Hall
Kedleston Hall
Kedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby, and is the seat of the Curzon family whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy...
, Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
and the Old Royal Naval College
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as being of “outstanding universal value” and reckoned to be the “finest and most...
in Greenwich.
Regarding lead actress Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Saul Dibb
Saul Dibb
Saul Dibb is the British director of Bullet Boy, for which he was nominated for the Douglas Hickox Award, The Line of Beauty, and The Duchess. He is a graduate of the University of East Anglia.-Notes:...
said The Duchess was "a chance to take a character from late childhood – she's married at 17 – into full adulthood, 10 years later." It was also a chance for Knightley to work with Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, whom she regarded as one of her most accomplished co-stars to date; Dibb said, "When I said, 'We've got Ralph interested in playing the Duke', we both took a gulp and went, 'F---.' ... But I didn't for one second feel that she wasn't up to the task."
Marketing
Studio executives wanted to use digitally-altered images of Keira Knightley in promotional materials. The alterations were specifically aimed at enlarging her breasts. However, Knightley objected to the alterations and they were not used. The marketing campaign also drew criticism for its use of Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, who was an indirect descendant of Georgiana's. The ad used slogans such as "two women related by ancestry and united by destiny" and even used "There were three people in her marriage", the latter being an almost identical copy of a famous quote that Diana, Princess of Wales uttered during her infamous Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
interview. Michael Hellicar of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
stated that "the Diana link is being so heavily, and it has to be said, so cynically and crudely promoted."
Amanda Foreman
Amanda Foreman (biographer)
Amanda Lucy Foreman is a British/American biographer and historian.-Family:Her father was the renowned screenwriter and film producer Carl Foreman who had to move to England in order to work after being blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios during the McCarthyism of the 1950s...
, author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, criticised the marketing strategy too, saying "They probably thought the only way to get the young popcorn-eating brigade to see the film was if they thought it was about Diana, but it wasn't necessary and they should never have done that. And the line 'united by destiny' is wrong. I don't think Georgiana actually died in a carriage crash."
Theatrical release
The BBFC has classified the film as a 12A, citing the scene of implied marital rapeSpousal rape
Marital rape, also known as spousal rape, is non-consensual sex in which the perpetrator is the victim's spouse. As such, it as a form of partner rape, of domestic violence, and of sexual abuse. Once widely condoned or ignored by law, spousal rape is now repudiated by international conventions and...
, which is "delivered through Georgiana's screams of protest, heard from outside the bedroom door." The BBFC's PG rating allows implied sex as long as it is discreet and infrequent; the board decided that the scene in The Duchess is more than "discreet" or "implied". The film had its world premiere on 3 September 2008, in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
and was released nationwide in the United Kingdom on 5 September.
Critical reception
The film received mixed, though mostly positive, reviews gaining 61% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 142 reviews, with the consensus that "Keira Knightley squeezes into a corset again, and pulls off another worthy performance in this sumptuous and emotional period drama, that serves parallels to the Duchess's descendant Princess Diana." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote that "Dibb's movie looks good" [however] "exasperatingly bland and slow-moving at all times" handing out a 2 of 5 star rating. However, Paul Hurley gave the film 8/10 and called The Duchess "an excellent new film" and states that "The Duchess stands a good chance of taking home some very big prizes at the end of the year".
Most reviewers have highly praised Knightley and Fiennes' performances. Time Out London wrote: "[Saul Dibb] is also helped enormously by a mature, restrained portrayal from Knightley, a masterclass in passive aggression from Fiennes and a performance of tender seduction from Atwell." The Epoch Times
The Epoch Times
The Epoch Times is a multi-language, international media organisation. As a newspaper, the Times has been publishing in Chinese since May 2000. It was founded in 1999 by supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline....
writes, "Ralph Fiennes brings a human quality to [the Duke] by avoiding any intent, exaggeration or ill will" and "Keira Knightley's performance gains new depth – she not only perfectly portrays a witty and feminine Georgiana early in the film, but also a caring mother, and an abandoned woman later on. Also remarkable in this role is Knightley's ability to portray the strengths, weaknesses, and the internal hurdles of Georgiana, as well as her internal contemplation." Film Ireland writes "It is a slow movie but it is well acted with Knightley and Fiennes suited to their roles, especially Fiennes who gives a formidable and powerful performance."
Cameron Baily, the co-chair of The Toronto International Festival comments; "The Duchess Of Devonshire, with Keira Knightley, which is a beautiful film and she gives a really mature performance. You're seeing her really turn into something beyond the kind of pretty face that we've seen her do already so well. But she's actually a very serious actress and she's turning into a great, great performer."
The film's costume designer Michael O'Connor
Michael O'Connor (costume designer)
Michael O'Connor is an English costume designer.-Biography:O'Connor began his training in theatre, as a dresser at the Old Vic in London...
was nominated for, and won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design
BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design
The British Academy Film Award for Best Costume Design is one of the annual film awards given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-1960s:* 1969 - Oh! What a Lovely War - Anthony Mendleson** Funny Girl – Irene Sharaff...
and the Satellite Award for Best Costume Design
Satellite Award for Best Costume Design
The Satellite Award for Best Costume Design is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy.- Winners and nominees :The following listing is based on the web postings of the International Press Academy.- 1990s :- 2000s :...
.
Awards
| Awards ceremony | Award Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards Academy Awards An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers... |
Best Costume Design | Michael O'Connor | |
| Best Art Direction Academy Award for Best Art Direction The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999... |
Michael Carlin | ||
| BAFTA Awards | Best Costume Design | Michael O'Connor | |
| BIFA British Independent Film Awards The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British... |
Best Actress | Keira Knightley | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Ralph Fiennes | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Hayley Atwell | ||
| Best Technical Achievement | Michael O'Connor (Costume) | ||
| Golden Globes Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ralph Fiennes | |
| People's Choice Awards People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett... |
Favourite Actress | Keira Knightley | |
| Favourite Independent Movie | The Duchess | ||
| Satellite Awards Satellite Awards 2008 The winners of the 13th Annual Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film and television in 2008, were announced on December 14, 2008.-Top 10 films:*Ballast*Changeling*Doubt*The Dark Knight*Frost/Nixon*Frozen River*Milk... |
Best Art Direction and Production Design | Karen Wakefield, Michael Carlin | |
| Best Cinematography | Gyula Pados | ||
| Best Costume Design | Michael O'Connor | ||
| London Circle Critics' Film Awards | British Actor of the Year | Ralph Fiennes | |
| British Actress in a Supporting Role | Hayley Atwell |
External links
- Twickenham Studios, the studio location
- Magnolia Mae Films, the production company
- Telegraph.co.uk on set report
- eFilmCritic.com interview with Dominic Cooper on The Duchess by Dan Lybarger
- http://www.amanda-foreman.com