The Duke of Burgundy

Dir: Peter Strickland

2014

****

I was put off watching The Duke of Burgundy for many different reasons. The hype surrounding Fifty Shades of Grey was tiresome and I found the way the media was confusing domestic violence with consensual dominance rather worrying. I didn’t see much promotion for The Duke of Burgundy and I actually learned of its existence when standing in line for autographs at a Star Trek convention. I overheard half the crew of The Next Generation talking about how some of them watched it the night before and how much they loved it. True story. With further research I saw that it was directed by Peter Strickland, Berberian Sound Studio was one of my favourite films of 2012, so I was pretty much sold on it there and then. The few reviews I read about it made many references to it being a sexy lesbian film, LGBT erotica, a gay version of 9 1/2 Weeks, Last Tango in Paris and Secretary, all of which totally overlook the point of the film. The film explores the different aspects of dominance and features two women (there are no men in the entire film) to keep the balance level. To tell the story between a man and a women would totally detract from the overall message. The film begins with wonderful mystery as we see a timid Evelyn cleaning the house of Cynthia. Evelyn is clearly doing her best while Cynthia comes across as a cruel employer. It soon transpires however that both are romantically involved. Evelyn is studying lepidopterology (the study of moths and butterflies) under Cynthia, who frequently lectures on her studies. Evelyn works as a maid in her home, where she is subject to strict behavioural expectations and high standards for cleanliness. When Evelyn does not complete tasks to Cynthia's satisfaction, she is punished. As Cynthia increasingly falters in her dominance, it becomes apparent that Evelyn is orchestrating Cynthia's role in the relationship by writing instructions and scripts for specific scenes, which the couple acts out in the same way each day. While Evelyn finds the scenes to be sexually exciting, Cynthia only acts them out to appease her lover – who it has to be said is younger and more attractive in her eyes. She attempts to please Evelyn by ordering a carpenter to construct a bed with a drawer underneath for Evelyn to sleep in as a punishment; however, Evelyn is unhappy with the length of time it will take to produce the bed, and ultimately refuses the gift. Evelyn begins to demand that Cynthia lock her in a trunk in the evening as a new punishment. Cynthia agrees, but she is resentful about the new physical separation. Cynthia also becomes self-conscious about her aging, having injured her back moving the trunk to her bedside. She expresses her unhappiness on Evelyn's birthday, when she demands that Evelyn bake her own birthday cake, which Cynthia eats while reclining with her feet resting on Evelyn's face. Evelyn does not enjoy the scene and calls out her safeword, pinastri, which Cynthia ignores. The couple's relationship becomes more strained as Evelyn's expectations go unfulfilled. Finally, Cynthia accuses Evelyn of polishing another lecturer's boots, which she considers to be an act of betrayal. The two eventually seem to make up, and Evelyn agrees to put less emphasis on her sexual needs. The film ends with the couple going through the same play routine seen at the film's start suggesting that perhaps all relationships go through the same motions. This is what I really loved about the film. For all the hype about it being raunchy, full of lesbian sex and forbidden fruit, it really is all about the reality of any relationship. The title of the film refers to the Duke of Burgundy (aka Hamearis lucina) butterfly, although it is no longer known how it received that name in the first place, any reasoning being lost in the mists of entomological antiquity. Much like their relationship, they’re not sure how they got there but here they are anyway. The moths also act as a metaphor in the case of being drawn to a flame scenario, but also the many butterflies pinned and mounted that occur throughout the film reflect the love/abuse relationship in that the very beauty that attracts some people cause them to act in cruel way to the object of desire. Much like Peter Strickland’s other films, there is an other-worldliness to the story, which gives it a fantasy edge that doesn’t have a time point. Cynthia’s lectures are given to a group of women, half of whom are actual mannequins, something that clearly isn’t hidden, especially when you consider the directors well known attention to detail. This gives the film a wonderful sense of theatre that suits the story perfectly. Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna are brilliant as Cynthia and Evelyn respectively. The film looks like a cult film straight out of the 1970s and you can tell Luis Buñuel is a big influence on Peter Stickland, not only in style but also because one of the characters in the movie is called Dr. Viridana. It’s a great piece of drama, overlooked, misunderstood and well under the radar but an absolute gem of a film.