jennylafleur (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jennylafleur) wrote2004-09-26 12:05 pm
jennylafleur) wrote2004-09-26 12:05 pm
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L’Anglaise et le Duc
I saw a very cool film this weekend, L’Anglaise et le Duc or The Lady & the Duke. Y'all have probally heard of it already but I knew nothing about it, bring it home from the library on a whim. I was enchanted to say the least!
The film is based on the diaries of a Scottish noblewoman, Grace Elliot, living in French during the Revolution. She was a lover of the Prince of Wales and the Duc Orleans, the former her protector and friend in Paris. It is a French film, with English subtitles. Far from distracting, I found it lovely to watch the characters speaking about those fateful events in the original language. The only bad thing about the subtitles is that I had to tear my eyes from the costuming to figure out what was going on.
The costuming is luscious! Very, very drool worthy. The delights begin in the very first scene when Grace dresses in front of the camera. The scene offered great views of her stays and other layers that made up her toilette. It was a treat throughout the film to actually see her under-layers peek out from under frocks (from certain camera angles) as well. :> The designer did an excellent job of showing the evolution of fashion from about 1789-1795 or so. Grace wears a lovely variety of clothing showing just about every style and cut associated with this period, from zone fronted gowns to the gathered "chemise dress" made so popular by the Queen. Several times you are shown how the gowns are fastened as well, which is great fun. Her maids also display a lovely assortment of jacket & petticoat combinations. *sigh*
The really amazing thing to me is that there is really no "stuff" in the film. Beyond the understanding that the heroine had once been the Duc’s mistress, there is nothing beyond lots of hand kissing, some rude comments from a few sans-culotte and Grace shown in her shift a few times. Mild to say the least. If there is any language (apart from a few "oh my God"’s), it is not translated. There are two moments of violence, which give it a PG-13 rating. One involves a man being bayoneted and the other involves close-up shots of the Princess de Lamballe’s head on a pike. Both were brief however and easy to anticipate if you didn’t want to watch.
The film itself, I enjoyed. The historical accuracy is good, although I think they tried to paint Orleans in too good a light at times. Then again I’m not a fan of the Duc. :> He was swept up in the tragedy of the Revolution like they all were but he sure acted like a scum bag a lot on his own initiative in my opinion.
The movie is very much like a play on film. Not much action but lots of scenes of the actors discussing the plot. It very much has the feel of the older BBC dramas like The Wives of Henry VIII, or Persuasion (1971). If you don’t mind those types of dramas too much, you will be able to enjoy this film. If you like this period of fashion even a little, it is a must see!
reviews, pics and trailers ect
Ebert’s review
horo-online
IMDB
The film is based on the diaries of a Scottish noblewoman, Grace Elliot, living in French during the Revolution. She was a lover of the Prince of Wales and the Duc Orleans, the former her protector and friend in Paris. It is a French film, with English subtitles. Far from distracting, I found it lovely to watch the characters speaking about those fateful events in the original language. The only bad thing about the subtitles is that I had to tear my eyes from the costuming to figure out what was going on.
The costuming is luscious! Very, very drool worthy. The delights begin in the very first scene when Grace dresses in front of the camera. The scene offered great views of her stays and other layers that made up her toilette. It was a treat throughout the film to actually see her under-layers peek out from under frocks (from certain camera angles) as well. :> The designer did an excellent job of showing the evolution of fashion from about 1789-1795 or so. Grace wears a lovely variety of clothing showing just about every style and cut associated with this period, from zone fronted gowns to the gathered "chemise dress" made so popular by the Queen. Several times you are shown how the gowns are fastened as well, which is great fun. Her maids also display a lovely assortment of jacket & petticoat combinations. *sigh*
The really amazing thing to me is that there is really no "stuff" in the film. Beyond the understanding that the heroine had once been the Duc’s mistress, there is nothing beyond lots of hand kissing, some rude comments from a few sans-culotte and Grace shown in her shift a few times. Mild to say the least. If there is any language (apart from a few "oh my God"’s), it is not translated. There are two moments of violence, which give it a PG-13 rating. One involves a man being bayoneted and the other involves close-up shots of the Princess de Lamballe’s head on a pike. Both were brief however and easy to anticipate if you didn’t want to watch.
The film itself, I enjoyed. The historical accuracy is good, although I think they tried to paint Orleans in too good a light at times. Then again I’m not a fan of the Duc. :> He was swept up in the tragedy of the Revolution like they all were but he sure acted like a scum bag a lot on his own initiative in my opinion.
The movie is very much like a play on film. Not much action but lots of scenes of the actors discussing the plot. It very much has the feel of the older BBC dramas like The Wives of Henry VIII, or Persuasion (1971). If you don’t mind those types of dramas too much, you will be able to enjoy this film. If you like this period of fashion even a little, it is a must see!
reviews, pics and trailers ect
Ebert’s review
horo-online
IMDB