Review of The Duke of Burgundy (2015) by Riyad F — 21 May 2016

I'm going to be tough on The Duke of Burgundy; with such glowing board critical praise it seems someone has to. Undoubtedly visually stunning, with spot on production design (albeit suspect use of hopefully fake moths), the film is notable for its willing self-positioning in relation to 'popular' erotic films such as 'Emmanuelle'.

However, while the film consciously plays on the impression of pornography (the first encounter between the women drawing on the cardboard 'role play' scenes that may preface sexual activity in cheap, often dated, pornography), I am suspicious of its motives.

Directed by a man, with a rather male senior production crew this feels like a film produced by men about lesbians in a way that might have necessitated a number of conspicuous 'exits' from the film set, such is the extent of its capacity to 'titillate'.

I agree with reviewer Cole Smithey that I would like to have seen what a daring female director would have done with this premise. As it is, to have produced such a detailed film in so many ways, and yet sum up Cynthia and Evelyn's relationship with - 'please can we stop this' - 'yes dear'.

..'actually, no that won't work' is to inject a degree of conservatism into this film that is unimpressive. Why is it necessary for one partner to seem to want conventional monogamy and a loving relationship? Why must cinema constrain what could have been a fuller exploration of an alternate way of living? An independent artist's film I saw did a better job: here we see the exploration of pain, constraint and pleasure between two women, then the more stereotypically loving acts that may follow; The Duke of Burgundy would have been stronger for taking such an approach.