DUCHESS (2024)

3 stars

Vertigo Releasing. Select cinemas 9th August. Digital download 12th August

Back in the day Neil Marshall was a director to be admired, with films like his debut DOG SOLDIERS (2001) and THE DESCENT (2005) on his CV. However, latterly, with his involvement with actress/writer Charlotte Kirk, we have had to suffer through THE RECKONING (2020) and THE LAIR (2022), neither of which were particularly good and did nothing to show Kirk could actually act. Still, such is the path of true love!

Now we have their latest outing together – DUCHESS opens with a scene lifted from later in the film in order to demonstrate that Kirk’s character Scarlett Monaghan is one bad ass. She is seducing a guy, in order to take revenge on him – he ends up bloodily blasted with a shotgun and hurls himself out of the window, presumably to certain death. A strong opening then… shame what follows doesn’t live up to this.

We then shift back in time to tell how we got to this point. Scarlett is a small time petty thief, working the patrons in nightclubs to earn a living of sorts. One night she is watched by a fascinated Robert McNaughton (Philip Winchester). When she tries her moves on him, he catches her red-handed, but instead of being annoyed by her, he turns on the charm…

Before long they are an item and she has fallen head over heels, especially as he is clearly minted from his dealings in diamond smuggling. However, when a deal goes horribly wrong Robert ends up dead – determined to seek revenge, she takes over his operation and sets about a trail of killings to seek retribution from the shady underworld types that caused her grief. As one line goes: she is “three times a lady… and ten times a bitch!”

A sort of sub Guy Ritchie action, gangster movie, this is the kind of story that introduces each of the characters via voiceover and a freeze frame graphic with a funky typeface – something that might have been considered cool some years back. Also adding to the dated feeling is the music – which sounds like it has been lifted from a library of old TV thriller soundtracks.

Sadly Kirk hasn’t improved in the acting stakes, though she can handle herself in a fight. The film isn’t helped by some naff dialogue and the narration by her in her best London accent – despite being brought up there it sounds rather fake.

Still there is plenty of gunplay and bloody brutal violence and even a touch of humour to keep things moving along, though it does at times feel like a parody of this type of genre movie – you could almost imagine this being a Roger Corman production being shot in the Philippines! Contrived but entertaining enough, with a good cast which includes a cameo from Colm Meaney as Scarlett’s Dad, Sean Pertwee as one of Robert’s minders and a wonderful Stephanie Beacham, clearly enjoying herself as the head of one of the criminal gangs, swearing like a trooper – a long way from Sable Colby in TV series Dynasty! At nearly two hours long, some judicious editing might have tightened proceedings and kept things snappier.

Steve Kirkham