The (English) Lady & the Duke is the English title of a French historical drama (based on a true story) which premiered in 2001.
The topic is the French Revolution of 1789.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Original French title: l’Anglaise & le Duc
** Writer and director: Eric Rohmer (1920-2010)
** Based on the book Ma vie sous la révolution by Grace Dalrymple Elliott 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
** Subtitles: English
** Released on DVD in 2002
** Run time: 123 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Lucy Russell as Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1754-1823) – the English Lady mentioned in the title
** Jean-Claude Dreyfus as Louis Philippe II d’Orléans (1747-1793) – the Duke mentioned in the title
** 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 Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) – a politician
INTRODUCTION
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I could mention many details here. But I am not going to do that. I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. I will only offer a few basic facts so you understand what is going on.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.
Some details may have been added, changed or excluded for dramatic purposes or practical reasons. But the basic story is true.
PART ONE
Grace and Philippe are the leading characters. Grace is the English Lady, who is mentioned in the title, while Philippe is the Duke, who is mentioned in the title.
The story, which 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
** The second part takes place 1793-1794, the period which is known as the Reign of Terror
Grace was born in Scotland in 1754 (or, according to some sources, in 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 remained in France for the rest of her life. She died there in 1823.
In old age, Grace wrote her memoirs, but they were not published until 1859, more than three decades after her death. This movie is based on her memoirs.
Philippe was born in 1747. He was the cousin of the French King Louis XVI, 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 they 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.
But her friends belonged to the old system – l’Ancien Régime – 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. It is her home.
The (English) Lady & 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.
A few scenes take place outdoors. They 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.
Here is another aspect of this movie which 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 story 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 drama? Here are the results of three review aggregators:
69 percent = IMDb
67 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
71 percent = Rotten tomatoes (the critics)
72 percent = Meta
These average ratings cover a combination of positive and negative reviews.
On Amazon UK there are at the moment 43 global ratings and 31 global reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.3 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 86 percent.
Here are the details:
5 stars = 64 percent
4 stars = 7 percent
3 stars = 7 percent
2 stars = 9 percent
1 star = 13 percent
Most reviews are positive. 71 percent offer four or five stars. But a substantial group of reviews are negative. 22 percent offer only one or two stars.
I can 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 (English) Lady & 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 minds of many French people, the revolution is a solemn event which should not be criticized.
I think this attitude is unfair. 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.
Eric Rohmer was Catholic and conservative; he was not fond of the revolution. For him, Grace is a hero, because she was a royalist who refused to change her mind just because it might have made her life easier.
It is not fair to blame a director for having a 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 (English) Lady & the Duke has positive and negative elements.
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 rather odd:
(1) There is no soundtrack.
(2) The special system which is used for the scenes that are filmed outdoors is not always successful.
If you ask me, the positive side is stronger than the negative side, but there is a negative side, there are some flaws which cannot be ignored. I have to remove one star because of these flaws. Therefore, I think this drama deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. A biography
An Infamous Mistress: The Life, Loves and Family of the Celebrated Grace Dalrymple Elliott by Joanne Major and Sara Murden (2016).
# 2. Articles available online
** Akin Ojuma, “Roads lead to Rohmer,” The Guardian, 30 December 2001
** Stuart Jeffries, “Off with her head,” The Guardian, 14 February 2002
# 3. A website
Women of the French Revolution: A Resource Guide
(Library of Congress) (Research Guides)
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L'Anglaise & le Duc
A French poster for the movie
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Grace Dalrymple Elliott
(1754-1823)
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Louis Philippe II
The Duke of Orléans
(1747-1793)
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