Lucy Russell stars as the real-life Grace Elliott in "The Lady and the Duke", a story taken directly from Ms. Elliot's memoirs of her time during the French Revolution. It's an altogether depressing tale that remains true to the facts of the period and directed with an artistic flourish by Eric Rohmer. The film is also in French with English subtitles which may turn off some potential viewers. Grace Elliott was a high-class courtesan who is most famous for being the mistress of the Duke of Orleans, a first cousin of the King of France (Louis XVI). Unfortunately for the King (and Grace), the Duke takes a position on the side of the radical Republicans and votes for Louis' death on the guillotine. The rest of the movie follows Grace as she does her best to avoid the same fate of her remaining Royalist friends. She barely makes it out alive. The Duke isn't so lucky. The Radical Jacobins turn on their own and in the ensuing blood bath (the "Terror") the Duke finds out that what comes around goes around.
All things considered, "The Lady and the Duke" is a fine period piece although some might find director Rohmer's technique a bit distracting. In lieu of real scenery, he films some scenes with his actors situated directly in front of large paintings of the countryside. It doesn't cheapen the movie in any way, but it is a bit excessive and overly ornate. One of his better scenes, and where he uses a real location shot, is when Ms. Elliott rides through Paris during severe upheaval and outbreaks of horrific violence. The chaos of the times is duly recorded and once again our heroine escapes with her head still on her shoulders.
"The Lady and the Duke" features excellent performances by the two leads, Russell as Elliott and Jean-Claude Dreyfus as the Duke. The rest of the cast is uniformly good. The film is informative about the events of this tragic age and is worth viewing even if one is not a student of France's Revolution. And no wonder the French turned to Napoleon after the Terror ran its course. Compared to Robespierre, Marat and their ilk, the Emperor must have seemed like a humanitarian.
All things considered, "The Lady and the Duke" is a fine period piece although some might find director Rohmer's technique a bit distracting. In lieu of real scenery, he films some scenes with his actors situated directly in front of large paintings of the countryside. It doesn't cheapen the movie in any way, but it is a bit excessive and overly ornate. One of his better scenes, and where he uses a real location shot, is when Ms. Elliott rides through Paris during severe upheaval and outbreaks of horrific violence. The chaos of the times is duly recorded and once again our heroine escapes with her head still on her shoulders.
"The Lady and the Duke" features excellent performances by the two leads, Russell as Elliott and Jean-Claude Dreyfus as the Duke. The rest of the cast is uniformly good. The film is informative about the events of this tragic age and is worth viewing even if one is not a student of France's Revolution. And no wonder the French turned to Napoleon after the Terror ran its course. Compared to Robespierre, Marat and their ilk, the Emperor must have seemed like a humanitarian.