It’s easy to call “The Duke of Burgundy” a period drama about a lesbian S&M relationship, or perhaps even describe it as “Blue Is the Warmest Color” meets “Fifty Shades of Grey” in the style of ‘70s sexploitation films. But each of those are mere labels that distract from an intricately layered third film from British filmmaker Peter Strickland (“Berberian Sound Studio”).
“The Duke of Burgundy” examines intimate female relationships unlike most films before it, with some exception for Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant” that similarly featured an all-female cast. There’s something different and captivating about “Duke,” which is essentially the paragon of passing the Bechdel test: there isn’t one mention of the male gender (besides the title itself). Set in a fictional world where only women exist (even the mannequins in the background of one scene are dressed female), the gorgeously shot “Duke” follows the S&M relationship of two women with opposing needs. Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna) is the masochist in need of sexual and psychological torture, inscribing the details of her desires on note cards for her partner Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) to enact — what to say, how long to wait and what punishment to carry out. Yet as time goes on, Cynthia finds the role-playing and consensual abuse grating on her sensitive, loving nature.
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“The Duke of Burgundy” is now playing in select cities.
