Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1754-1823)

The Lady and the Duke is the English title of a French movie l’Anglaise et le Duc, which is based on a true story about the French revolution. It premiered in 2001 and was released on DVD in the following year. Here is some basic information about it:

** Written and directed by Eric Rohmer (1920-2010)

** Based on the book Ma vie sous la révolution by Grace Dalrymple Elliott that was published (posthumously) in 1859. The English title is During the Reign of Terror: Journal of My Life through the French Revolution (1910, reprinted 2012)

** Soundtrack: French (English subtitles)

** Run time: 123 minutes

The cast includes the following:

** Lucy Russell as Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1754-1823)

** Jean-Claude Dreyfus as Louis Philippe Joseph d’Orléans (1747-1793)

** Léonard Cobiant as Champcenetz – governor of the Tuileries Palace

** François Marthouret as General Dumouriez (1739-1823)

** Alain Libolt as the Duke of Biron (1747-1793)

** Charlotte Véry as Pulcherie – Lady Elliott’s cook

** Rosette as Franchette – Lady Elliott’s servant

** Caroline Morin as Nanon – Lady Elliott’s servant

** Marie Rivière as Madame Laurent – Lady Elliott’s friend

** Helena Dubiel as Madame Meyler – Lady Elliott’s friend

** François-Marie Banier as Citizen Robespierre (1758-1794)

I do not want to spoil the viewing for anyone, so I am not going to reveal too much about what happens in this movie. However, all facts mentioned in this review are part of the public record – remember this movie is based on a true story – and therefore they can hardly be described as spoilers.

PART ONE

Grace and Philippe are the leading characters in this movie. Grace is the lady, or the English woman, and Philippe is the Duke, who are mentioned in the title.

The story, which takes place takes place during the French revolution, is divided into two parts: the first part takes place in 1790, one year after the revolution broke out; while the second part takes place 1793-1794, the period which is known as the Reign of Terror.

Grace was born in Scotland in 1754 (some sources say 1760). As an adult, she moved to England where she had a brief affair with the Prince of Wales, the future King George IV. In 1784 she was introduced to Philippe, the Duke of Orléans, with whom she started an affair. In 1786 she moved to Paris where she remained during the revolution. During the Reign of Terror she was arrested and sentenced to be executed. But before the sentence could be carried out, the revolution came to an end and she was released. She died in France in 1823.

In old age, Grace wrote her memoirs, but they were not published until 1859, i.e. more than three decades after her death. Eric Rohmer’s movie is based on these memoirs.

Philippe was born in 1747. He was the cousin of the French king, but he was not a royalist. When the revolution broke out, Grace and the Duke had already ended their affair, but they remained friends and were in close contact. 

Philippe was a friend of the revolution. But many revolutionaries did not trust him, because he was a member of the royal family. In 1793, during the Reign of Terror, he was arrested and executed. His son Louis-Philippe became king of the French after the revolution of 1830.

This movie presents the French revolution as seen through the eyes of a foreign witness, a woman who spoke the language and who had friends in high places. However, her friends belonged to the old regime – “l’ancien regime” – and therefore the revolutionaries never really trusted her. They thought she was a spy for Britain, the arch-enemy of the revolution.

Grace was a royalist; she did not support the revolution. She was shocked when the French king and queen were arrested and later executed. Her friend Philippe supported the revolution, even though he was a member of the royal family. But in spite of their political differences, Grace and Philippe remained close friends until he was executed by the revolution which he had supported from the very beginning.

PART TWO

In the movie, Grace urges Philippe to go to England while he can in order to save himself. But he refuses to go. He says he has to stay, because he is in favour of the revolution.

In the movie, Philippe urges Grace to go to England while she can in order to save herself. But she refuses to go. She says she has to stay, because France is her adopted country.

The Lady and the Duke is not an action movie. Most scenes take place in a room in a house where the characters sit and talk. They argue; one opinion against the other.

The few scenes, which take place outdoors, are created in a special way. It looks as if the characters are inside a painting from the 18th century. We are not looking at a real landscape here. We are looking at paintings or drawings which are projected onto a number of blue screens which are placed around the actors. It has a curious effect. Some viewers will like it, while others will say it is too strange for them.

Another aspect of this movie is strange or at least unusual: there is no music in the background. During the brief introduction in the beginning and during the credit rolls at the end, there is some music, but once the actual movie begins, there is no music at any time; only natural sounds, such as the sound of people walking across a wooden floor.

Most movies have a soundtrack running in the background. Music is important, because it sets the mood of each scene. If it is well-chosen, most viewers do not even notice the music. But I think many viewers will notice that there is no music here. And some of them may feel that something is missing. In many ways, this movie reminds me of a theatre play, where we only have the dialogue of the characters and not much else.

PART THREE

What do reviewers say about this movie? On IMDb it has a rating of 69 per cent; on Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 71 per cent; and on Metacritic it has a rating of 72 per cent. However, these ratings cover a mixed pattern of positive and negative reviews. On Amazon UK there are 13 reviews. Eight go all the way to the top and offer 4 or 5 stars, while five go all the way to the bottom and offer only 1 or 2 stars.

I understand this pattern. Since this is a movie about the French revolution, some viewers may expect an action movie, but if they do, they will be deeply disappointed. As stated before, this is not an action movie. This movie is completely different. It has a lot of dialogue. The characters argue about the revolution, the monarchy, what is right and what is wrong.

In short: The Lady and the Duke is not a movie for everyone. If you want an action movie, you should stay away. But if you are ready to watch a movie with an intensive dialogue about an important historical event, this may be the right movie for you.

When the movie was released in France, it was criticized for showing that the revolution was sometimes a bloody affair. In the French mind the revolution is a solemn event which should not be criticized. I think this attitude is unreasonable. While the revolution was indeed a solemn event, it was also a bloody event. It is not fair to criticize the director for telling the truth.

Rohmer was Catholic and conservative; he is not fond of the revolution. For him, Grace is a hero because she was a royalist who refused to change her mind just to make her life easier. We cannot blame a director for having a clear political point of view. We may disagree with him – and personally I do – but we cannot use his political view as a reason to criticize his movie.

CONCLUSION

The Lady and the Duke has a positive and a negative side. On the positive side, we have an eyewitness to the French revolution who has close connections to the old centre of power. It is very interesting to learn how she feels about what is going on around her and to see how she tries to cope with it. On the negative side, the movie is a bit odd: (1) there is no soundtrack; (2) the special system used for the scenes that are filmed outdoors, is not always successful.

If you ask me, the positive side is much stronger than the negative side, but there is a negative side, there are some flaws which I cannot ignore. I have to remove one star because of them. Therefore I think this movie deserves a rating of four stars.

PS # 1. For more information, see the following biography: An Infamous Mistress: The Life, Loves and Family of the Celebrated Grace Dalrymple Elliott by Joanne Major and Sara Murden (2016).

PS # 2. The following articles about the movie are available online:

** Akin Ojuma, “Roads lead to Rohmer,” the Guardian, 30 December 2001

** Stuart Jeffries, “Off with her head,” the Guardian, 14 February 2002

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A contemporary painting of Grace Elliott

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