'The Duchess' review

Keira Knightley and Hayley Atwell in "The Duchess" (Credit: Nick Wall/Paramount Vantage)

Feisty young heiress Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) excitedly enters into an arranged marriage with the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), only to discover he's a complete jerk. To help make the situation more bearable she strikes up a friendship with fellow noblewoman Bess (Hayley Atwell) and a flirtation with longtime acquaintance Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper).

Big question: What’s up with Keira Knightley and corsets?

Catch it: The events on screen are ultimately as slight as Knightley’s frame, but anyone who loved the extravagant costumes while hating the naval-gazing storyline of Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” should warm to this highly fashionable and dramatically eventful slice of history. Knightley has justifiably become the go-to girl for spirited heroines and Fiennes continues his recent string of villainous roles with a turn that’s equal parts dashing and diabolical.

Skip it: If you don’t want to find out what happens when one of those massive old fashioned wigs gets a little too close to an open flame.

Bottom line: Following the lead of "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Tudors," "The Duchess" turns historical events into soap opera without much depth or nuance. A strong cast provides the appearance of class for a story that's really just entertaining trash dressed up in 18th-century haute couture.

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