Duchess (film)

Duchess is a 2024 British crime film directed by Neil Marshall. It is a revenge action thriller, featuring a female protagonist portrayed by Charlotte Kirk. The film received both a limited box office release, and generally poor critical reception.

Duchess
Directed by	Neil Marshall
Written by	Neil Marshall Charlotte Kirk
Produced by	Emily Corcoran Kristyna Sellnerova
Starring	Charlotte Kirk Philip Winchester Colm Meaney Hoji Fortuna Stephanie Beacham Sean Pertwee
Cinematography	Simon Rowling
Edited by	Adam Trotman Neil Marshall
Music by	Paul Lawler
Production companies	Cork Films Ashland Hill Media Finance Lip Sync Scarlett Productions Ltd.
Distributed by	Palisades Park Pictures Vertigo Films (United Kingdom)
Release date	August 9, 2024 (2024-08-09)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$43,355[1]

Plot

Scarlett is a low-level thief who, while working as a pickpocket in a nightclub, falls for the suave Rob. Rob, it turns out, is a diamond smuggler working with Danny and Baraka, selling a massive diamond to queen-fence Charlie. Following Rob's death at the hands of his fellow smugglers, Scarlett becomes known as "Duchess", intent on a bloody revenge.

Cast

• Charlotte Kirk as Scarlett (aka Duchess)
• Philip Winchester as Rob
• Sean Pertwee as Danny
• Hoji Fortuna as Baraka
• Colin Egglesfield as Tom
• Stephanie Beacham as Charlie
• Colm Meaney as Frank

Release

Box office

Duchess had a limited release to theatres in August 2024, achieving a box office total of $43,355. It was released to video the same month.^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	22/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[3]
RogerEbert.com	[4]
Daily Telegraph	[5]
Screen Rant	[6]

The film holds a Metacritic score of 22 denoting reviews as "Generally Unfavorable".^[2] The aggregator later listed it as the third worst reviewed movie of 2024.^[7]

In a two-star review for the Guardian, critic Leslie Felperin stated that Kirk looks good in Lycra but the movie is "tired" and does not engage the audience.^[3] Brian Tallerico for RogerEbert.com slated the movie, stating not only is it "overlong" but it feels "twice as long" again.^[4]

Although featuring a female protagonist in the lead role, a review in Screen Rant stated the film "fails to subvert sexist tropes", with its gender politics being less progressive than movies from 30-40 years previously.^[6]