okay first of all, let me just say that Keira Knightley was brilliant in her role. this movie is full of the sexism of its time period. i'm not at all a feminist but i think the directors got a little carried away when it came to portraying how much of a womanizer the duke was. i know you're supposed to hate his character anyway, but when he takes his wife's best and only friend and makes her his mistress so she can get her kids back..... WTF! and the duchess' lover wasn't too appealing. they could've picked a better looking actor to make it a little more believable. but then.... i guess at that point the duchess was desperate enough to get anyone aside from her husband! this movie disgusted me. the only reason i watched it to the end was because of Keira Knightley's performance