'Duchess' works as light historical drama  Follow on Twitter on
October 10, 2008 at 4:30 AM, updated January 26, 2012 at 10:59
AM Keira Knightley in 'The Duchess.'  For all its assets, it's
not so much what the Georgian-period drama "The Duchess" has
that makes it such a satisfying bit of historical cinema.
Rather, it's what it doesn't.  Specifically, it boasts a lack of
self-indulgence on the part of Saul Dibb, a mostly untested
29-year-old British director whose only previous feature
experience of note came with 2002's well-received urban drama
"Bullet Boy."  Where other period films tend to tack an extra
five minutes onto the running time for every powdered wig or
ripped bodice, "The Duchess" features few wasted scenes and few
wasted characters over its nicely trimmed 1 hour 50 minutes.
Keira Knightley and Hayley Atwell in 'The Duchess.'   2.5 stars,
out of 4  Plot: The story of England's real-life Georgiana,
Duchess of Devonshire, whose political and social dealings were
out-drama-ed only by her own marr