Elizabeth Bennet, Georgiana Spencer, Anna Karenina… Keira Knightley has worn more corsets than modern clothes in films. Considered the Queen of historical films, her career is marked by several works set between the XVIII century and the 1950s. Recently, Keira Knightley confessed to voluntarily choosing historical films for the way women are depicted. From the Pirates of the Caribbean saga to The Aftermath (2019), what are Keira Knightley's unmissable historical films?
The Pirates of the Caribbean saga (2003-2007)
Impossible to mention Keira Knightley without thinking of the role which revealed her to the public. After having been Natalie Portman's double in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), the young British actress gets the film's first role during live action at Disney Studios. Even though it's an adventure film with fantasy notes, Pirates of the Caribbean jumpstarts the beginning of a long list of costume films for Keira Knightley. Elizabeth Swann, the daughter of Port-Royal's governor, embarks on a pirate adventure when she comes into possession of a cursed medallion. Slowly becoming a an experienced sailor, Elizabeth will give up her corset for pirates' rags. She makes a last appearance in the saga in 2017 in Dead Men Tell No Tales where she rejoins Will Turner, played by Orlando Bloom.
King Arthur (2004)
Although straying very far from Arthurian legend, King Arthur confirms Keira Knightley's place as a complex character in a blockbuster. In Antoine Fuqua's film, she plays Guinevere, a Pict warrior that Arthur, played by Clive Owen, falls in love with. This interpretation of King Arthur received mixed critics but the public saluted the chosen bias of this pseudo-realistic historical production.
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Pride and Prejudice(2005)
When Keira Knightley gets the role of Elizabeth Bennet, she signs the first of a long list of collaborations with Joe Wright. This adaptation of Jane Austen's novel is considered one of the best. The film managed to please both fans of the author and newcomers. Accompanied by Matthew Macfayden as arrogant Mr. Darcy, Keira Knightley amazes in her incredible embodiment of the young Elizabeth. In 2006, she will be nominated to the Golden Globes and the Oscars for the title of Best Actress.
Atonement (2007)
For this new collaboration with Joe Wright, Keira Knightley plays the role of Cecilia Tallis. is accompanied by James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan. This time, Joe Wright takes his muse into United Kingdom of the 1930s. Cecilia, a wealthy young woman, falls in love with the governess' son, Robbie Turner. Falsely accused of rape by Cecilia's younger sister, Robbie is sent to prison and then to battle in Normandy. Keira Knightley is again nominated to the Oscars and the Golden Globes for Best Actress.
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Silk (2007)
This adaptation of Alessandro Baricco's novel invites the viewer to travel to 1861. Michael Pitt plays Hervé Joncourt, a young French man living off silkworm culture. He goes to Japan to buy healthy cocoons and leaves behind Hélène, his wife. Upon his arrival in the Country of the Rising Sun, Hervé falls for a mysterious young woman. Keira Knightley is again in historical costume and joined the filming of Silk right after she finished filming Pirates of the Caribbean.
The Edge of Love (2008)
Surrounded by Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys, Keira Knightley recounts the life of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Vera Philips finds her childhood friend Dylan Thomas, who became a famous writer and is married to Caitlin. Of the rivalry between the two women will blossoms a sincere friendship. When Vera falls for a soldier sent to battle, she has no choice but to wait for him in Caitlin and Dylan's house. The foursome of this English drama is extremely complex. Although the film flew under the radar, the press did salute the performances of Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley.
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The Duchess (2008)
It is probably one of the most important films in Keira Knightley's career. Inspired by the life of Georgiana Spencer, Saul Dibb's film reveals the double-faced personality of Lady Diana's ancestor. Married very young to the Duke of Devonshire (played by Ralph Fiennes), Georgiana imagined a happy life. She is heartbroken when she learns that William, her husband, only sees her as a way to get a male heir she struggles to give him. Keira Knightley describes her character in this way : “There was something very sad in this woman, I think she was a victim of herself, of her own innocence.She was also the victim of those that used her for their own profit, while she also knew how to exert a certain power at a time when women had very little of it.”
A Dangerous Method (2011)
In this other historical film, Keira Knightley takes the viewer to the beginning of the last century. The British actress plays Sabina, a young woman suffering with what doctors at the time called “hysteria.” She is treated by psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung and quickly becomes his mistress. The relationship becomes complicated when another character joins in : Sigmund Freud. She is surrounded by Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender to relate the true story of this complicated love triangle.
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Anna Karenina (2012)
For the film adaption of Tolstoy's novel, Keira Knightley rejoins Joe Wright but also Matthew Macfayden, who plays her brother. Like in the cult book, Anna is a young woman married to the sinister Alexis Karenina, an important Statesman played by Jude Law. She keeps a secret relationship with the Count Vronski, despite the risks. For this version of Anna Karenina, Joe Wright bets on a certain theatricality to represent Russian High Society at the end of the 19th century. A brand in particular collaborated with the filmmaker to dress Keira Knightley: Chanel created jewelry specifically for the film and the actress, Muse of the House. These creations express vanity, opulence and the extreme elegance of the character.
Colette (2018)
In 2018, Keira Knightley cut off her hair and became Colette. Wash Westmoreland's biographical film tells the true life of the French author known for her love of freedom and art. The young woman from the countryside marries the writer Willy for whom she writes the series Claudine. Slowly, she gets tired of the lack of recognition and decides to emancipate from her husband, who sees her as “the goose that lays golden eggs.” Simultaneously, she starts a relationship with the Marquise de Marboeuf who incites her to free herself from the shackles of society.
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The Aftermath (2019)
Back to the 1940s. After the war, Rachael and Lewis Morgan, a British couple, moves to Hamburg, to the house of German architect Stephen Lubert. At first furious at having to live with the enemy, Rachael eventually gets close to Stephen with whom she shares the sadness of loss. If the film wasn't a success, the chemistry between Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgård explodes on the screen. Critics welcome a much-needed narrative on a strange period between war and reconciliation.
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Translated by Maria Atallah
Also on Vogue.fr :
Keira Knightley in 11 memorable films
Jane Austen: The 10 best film adaptations of her novels
