The Duchess/The Queen

Double bill of biographical British dramas. 'The Duchess' (2008) stars Keira Knightley as 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire, known for her glamorous and extravagant lifestyle. Married at a young age to the older Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), Georgiana becomes a fashion icon and a shrewd political operator as well as a doting mother and darling of the common people. However, trapped in an unhappy triangle with her husband and his mistress (Hayley Atwell), her search for love becomes increasingly desperate. When she begins a passionate affair with an ambitious young politician (Dominic Cooper), the scandal causes bitter conflict with her already distant husband. 'The Queen' (2006) is Stephen Frears' critically acclaimed portrait of the English Monarch in time of strife. One of the most turbulent times in British politics in recent memory seen from an insider's perspective - an almost documentary look at the relationship between the figurehead and the brains behind the UK. It's 1997 and Tony Blair's Labour Government has just won an election, ending 18 years of Conservative rule. Blair the firebrand (Michael Sheen) must introduce himself to the Queen (Helen Mirren) and ask permission to govern the country. The stone-faced Regina, in accepting, gives him not a millimeter of slack, silently underscoring the fact she's in charge. Shortly thereafter, the former Princess of Wales, wife of Elizabeth's son and heir, is killed in Paris. The Queen's initial reaction is to hold ranks and treat Diana as an outsider, being that she has left the royal household. Blair senses the coming landslide of public opinion against this course of action and tries, as hard as a new boy can, to make her majesty see sense. The question of who's truly in charge comes to the fore.