Main Cast: Laurent Le Doyen, Marie Rivière, Lucy Russell, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Francois Marthouret, Leonard Cobiant, Caroline Morin
Release Year: 2001
Country: FR
Run Time: 129 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Having finished his acclaimed cinematic quartet "Contes des quatre saisons," legendary filmmaker Eric Rohmer takes DV camera in hand to recreate this idiosyncratic period piece adapted from the Grace Elliot memoirs. Concerned with faithfully evoking 18th century France, Rohmer uses two strategies -- using only eyewitness accounts of the times and avoiding all external settings, arguing that Paris now is a completely different city than it was during revolutionary times. The story revolves around Grace Elliot (Lucy Russell), a Scottish aristocrat stranded in Paris during the French Revolution. She is once again thrown together with Philippe Egalite, the cousin to the king, the Duke of Orleans, and Grace's former lover. Their friendship remains complicated and uncertain, and is made all the more complex by the rush of events around them. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review
Light, rational talkfests may be his métier, but master filmmaker Eric Rohmer has occasionally stretched his legs to make more atypical productions: namely, period pieces like the location-shot The Marquise of O and the studio-bound Perceval le Gallois. The Lady and the Duke, Rohmer's rapturously received 2001 feature, follows in their footsteps. An engrossing historical yarn and an outright visual marvel, The Lady and the Duke was inspired by the memoirs of Grace Elliott, a Scottish aristocrat living in Paris during the French Revolution. Rohmer has acknowledged that the movie was an attempt at depicting historical Paris in a way that had never been done before. To accomplish the task, Rohmer used digital technology to insert his characters in painted scenic backdrops that were based on pictures and engravings from the period. The result is a wondrous optical illusion: the spectral exteriors seem like paintings come to life. The effect gives The Lady and the Duke an added subtext of testimony, as if history were being written before our eyes. Uncharacteristically suspenseful for a Rohmer work, the movie nonetheless has its hefty share of tête-à-têtes, mostly between the royalist Grace and the revolutionary Duke of Orleans. While their impassioned dialogues give the upheavals context, those without a working knowledge of the French Revolution might have trouble keeping up with its twists. No matter; Rohmer's mastery for conversation notwithstanding, it's the pictures, not the words, that elevate this film to near-greatness. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
Cast
Lucy Russell - Grace Elliott
Jean-Claude Dreyfus - Philippe, Duke of Orleans
Francois Marthouret - Dumourier
Leonard Cobiant - Champcenetz
Caroline Morin - Nanon
Alain Libolt - Duke de Biron; Helena Dubeil - Madame Meyler; Daniel Tarrare - Justin, the porter; Charlotte Véry - Pulcherie, the cook; Marie Rivière; Rosette; Laurent Le Doyen
Credit
Antoine Fontaine - Art Director, Eric Rohmer - Director, Francoise Etchegaray - Producer, Eric Rohmer - Screenwriter
Jean-Claude Dreyfus as Duke of Orléans Lucy Russell as Grace Elliott
Alain Libolt as Duke of Biron
Charlotte Véry as Pulcherie the Cook Rosette as Franchette
Léonard Cobiant as Champcenetz
François Mathouret as Dumouriez
Caroline Morin as Nanon
Héléna Dubiel as Madame Meyler
François-Marie Banier as Robespierre
The film was inspired by Ma vie sous la révolution , the colourful memoirs of Grace Elliott, an Edinburgh-born royalist caught up in the political intrigue following the French Revolution. 'The customary verbal sparring and complex intellectual arguments are spiced by lavish sets, suspenseful plotting and the continuous threat of violence.' It was criticised by many viewers in France because of its uncompromising presentation of revolutionary violence; some described it as reactionary or monarchist propaganda.[citation needed] Asked about this in an Observer interview Lucy Russell remarked; "There does seem to be a great problem, not just in France, but every country has problems facing up to the nasty parts of its history. But there's a reason it was called The Terror."
