Duchess – Vertigo Releasing

Director: Neil Marshall
Screenplay: Neil Marshall, Charlotte Kirk and Simon Farr
Starring: Charlotte Kirk and Sean Pertwee
Country: United Kingdom
Running Time: 114 mins
Year: 2024

Neil Marshall’s a name that any horror fan should be well aware of. Directing 2000s classics such as Dog Soldiers and The Descent should give you a lifetime pass into the horror hall of fame. His career lately has been less focused on the horror films that he made his name from (outside of 2022’s The Lair) and instead, Neil operates more as a Jack of all trades, with his recent outing Duchess being a prime example. 

Duchess follows Scarlett (played by Charlotte Kirk), a smart-talking small-time criminal who gets involved with Rob (Philip Winchester), who saves her from a life that was headed nowhere, and offers her a chance to reinvent her life in some less-than-legal ways. After getting involved in some shady smuggling, an incident leaves Scarlett out for bloody revenge.

The best way to describe Duchess is to ask “Have you seen a Guy Ritchie film before?” If so, you’ve seen Duchess. It’s a shame to see Marshall’s name attached to something that doesn’t really scream him in any way, and while the film itself isn’t the worst thing ever, it does so little to differentiate itself apart from the litany of British crime thrillers that have taken influence from Richie’s work over the past few decades.

Lead actor Charlotte Kirk also co-wrote the film with Marshall, and seems to have done the same for their past few collaborations The Lair and The Reckoning, but the pair fail to bring anything new to the table. It’s unfortunate, because we’ve seen examples of films in recent years like the Scott Adkins-led Accident Man films which feel rooted in that Richie “smart-guys yapping with some action to boot” but are able to bring their own unique flair to the table. However, with mediocre action, a generic screenplay and nothing stylistically to make it stand apart from other films of this ilk, Duchess left very little of an impression on me.

As I said before, Duchess is far from a terrible film, but it arguably commits a sin worse than being terrible and it’s the sin of being dull. With a runtime of almost two hours, the film barely feels like it gets going until the 70 minute mark, and even then, the derivative nature of what’s happening on screen in the third act doesn’t feel like a payoff that’s really worth the 70 minute setup. The film’s decently shot, but there’s some editing choices that range from working really well to being baffling, so I don’t know how people will react to it. I personally found the film introducing every single character tiring (I swear, there must be at least 20 moments in the film where everything stops so voice-over narration can introduce a character to us) but I can see how some would find it charming.

It’s nice to see Dog Soldiers actor Sean Pertwee collaborate with Marshall again, and he gives the most enthusiastic performance in the film, but outside of his screen-time and some particularly ridiculous violence in the latter half (I cracked a smile at a sequence involving a car and a fist fight that ends brutally), Duchess is a misfire for Marshall. It’s still one of his better films in recent years, but given that his recent output includes Hellboy (2019), I don’t know if that’ll convince a lot of people. Your mileage will vary with the film, but I really hope that Marshall’s next feature feels more… well, Neil Marshall than Duchess does.

Film:

Duchess will be in select UK Cinemas on 9th August & available on Digital Download from 12th August.