Awards aside though, Dangerous Liaisons 20 years past remains for me the definitive period drama of aristocracy and adultery. Period dramas of this theme haven’t been in vogue for many years (there were period dramas on other themes though), but saw a minor resurgence since the last 8 years.
Of the lot, there was The Tudors which had a huge budget, plenty of story telling time but crippled by poor casting in the lead roles and a story that took forever to tell. We had The Other Boleyn Girl, which was centered on just the first two wives of Henry Tudor: the film was alright in adaptation and pacing, but suffered as well from poor casting, including a completely miscasted Scarlett Johansson as the surviving Boleyn girl.
There was also Casanova starring the late Heath Leger in a cute but ultimately meaningless romp of a film, The Affair of the Necklace which was loosely based on an actual historical incident and is a favorite film of mine, and The Duchess blogged here. I’m also especially interested in Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst in the title role as I’m familiar with this period of history, but haven’t seen the film yet as I can’t find it on rental.
—
It’s hard not to compare The Duchess with Dangerous Liaisons, as both films share common elements. They’re both stories of adultery set in the disconnect between aristocracy and peasantry of 18th century England and France, and within the same time period.
Where The Duchess failed for me was its lack of sophistication and absence of an intelligent story. Perhaps that’s the way it goes with this historical incident that the film was based on: that as important as Georgiana Cavendish was in the Spencer family line – she was the ancestor of the late but much beloved and missed Lady Diana Spencer – the story of Georgiana Cavendish’s life was one of triviality. Or just maybe insufficient accounts of her actual personal history survive for the screen adaption to get mileage off.
I’m waiting for a new period drama sometime. After all, who doesn’t find tales of adultery in 18th century Europe interesting? Maybe Marie Antoinette fits the bill but I’m not hopeful based on the film trailers, and that it’s Ms. Peter Parker in the leading role.
For the moment, Dangerous Liaisons gets the perfect score from me. Now if only Ling can tear herself away from Hannah for an evening to watch this.:)
Recent comments