A Movie Review by Nicole Martinez
August 19th 2025
The Duke of Burgundy (2014) offers a glimpse into an authority-transfer relationship (ATR) between Cynthia, an experienced lepidopterology, and Evelyn, her younger student and submissive. Unlike other movies that explore the beginning of a relationship, the events in this film happen sometime after the relationship and its routines have been established, although it’s not clear how this happened or when. “Routine” is key here, as the characters re-enact certain scenarios multiple times throughout the movie, starting with Evelyn arriving at Cynthia’s house to perform tasks as her maid. Cynthia’s simple, sharp-edged greeting, “You’re late,” makes it clear in which direction the power flows and hints at what will follow.
While the film’s opening doesn’t immediately jump into the sexual elements of power exchange, it does highlight the element of service that is common in many of these relationships and with which I am familiar as someone who learned about ATR long before the advent of YouTube and TikTok, where many people now learn about power exchange. But while service can be a part of a healthy ATR, I soon sensed that not all was well. Initially, I wondered if Cynthia was forcing submission upon Evelyn, but it quickly became clear that it was Evelyn who pursued this relationship and tasks such as being used as a human toilet, while Cynthia wasn’t entirely on board, at least, not in the way her partner wanted.
The majority of this movie examines the tension between the two main characters: Evelyn, who wants to be pushed further into submission and uncomfortable situations, and Cynthia, who increasingly finds donning the accoutrements of her dominant persona oppressive when all she wants is genuine connection. No one would ever suggest following The Duke of Burgundy as a guide to ATR, but there’s no denying that it reflects a common scenario in these relationships: people with a strong desire to submit and partners who struggle to fulfill those desires because their hearts aren’t truly in the dominant role. And Cynthia’s heart is in the right place: she’s willing to order custom bondage furniture to please her partner, but even the delivery timeline frustrates Evelyn.
More than that, this movie illustrates a feeling some dominants have that they’re used as “kink dispensers,” a term that refers to using others solely for your own kinky gratification without viewing them as a whole person. Specifically, the phrase denotes a submissive treating a dominant this way because dominants are usually the ones doling out pain, pleasure, and everything in between. Evelyn falls into this trap, and the viewer can practically see Cynthia’s heart breaking when, after she explains how much she loves being with Evelyn, the other woman brushes it aside and asks her to “talk about the other things,” instead. Rather than bond with Cynthia, Evelyn is only open to hearing her partner say something kinky in her ear while she gets off.
Evelyn also seems to be fixated on their kinky interactions being overly scripted, not allowing them to play out organically. In real life, well, life happens. There are accidents, physical limitations, misunderstandings, and all sorts of things that prevent most things from happening exactly as we imagine them. That doesn’t make our real experiences any less worthwhile, and that’s as true in power exchange as any other part of life. We learn to laugh or cry through them and, in the best outcome, this brings us closer to our partners. But this can’t happen because of Evelyn’s rigidity about her kinks. Such a lack of flexibility invariably leads to disappointment.
The weight of all of this on Cynthia becomes painfully apparent to the viewer when she breaks down in tears, wondering if Evelyn even cares about her as a person. Interestingly, this appears to shift the power because Evelyn, perhaps for the first time, is truly worried about hurting and losing her lover. It’s unclear how long this lasts, since by the end of the film, the women’s routine has returned. Have they returned to fulfilling Evelyn’s desires? Or do things feel different for the couple despite appearing outwardly similar to the beginning of the film?
While it would be easy to judge Evelyn for being selfish, which she is, this movie does overlook how difficult it can be for someone who is naturally drawn to submission, whose partner doesn’t feel the same about dominance. It’s often not enough to simply go through the motions because you can’t feel the flow of power between you. Evelyn’s experience may be just as heartbreaking as Cynthia’s; she just doesn’t express it as pain but as something that can be obtained if she continues to push. And people like Cynthia will often push themselves for fear of losing their partner.
The Duke of Burgundy doesn’t show what, if any, negotiation Cynthia and Evelyn did before embarking on their authority transfer journey together, so we can’t know exactly what or how Cynthia agreed to try it out or what research the pair did before jumping in. Nor does it show them communicating well about their experiences, whether within or outside of their scenes. Both of these mistakes go against all good advice and usually don’t bode well for a relationship, but it is realistic. In kink and vanilla relationships alike, we all too often dive in headfirst without knowing the other person–or ourselves–well enough to know if it’s a good idea. And in the real world, people do bungle their way along when they discover something new and someone is at least willing to give it a go.
The problem arises when people make the dive with someone who is a poor match, as may be the case with Cynthia and Evelyn. For some, kink is nonnegotiable and necessary to living authentically, and a mismatch is a dealbreaker. If Cynthia and Evelyn haven’t truly figured out a style that works for them, they may find themselves miserable together, which frequently happens when people try to stifle their kinky selves to save a relationship. Often, breaking up is the most logical choice for everyone involved to have a chance at a happy and healthy relationship that meets their needs. But because we as a society don’t talk about sex, let alone kink, we may already be in an established relationship that we don’t want to give up before we reveal these parts of ourselves.
This movie is ultimately a beautifully filmed and sensual cautionary tale, not against authority transfer relationships in general, but against pursuing them less thoughtfully than we should, including focusing too much on our own wants and needs to the detriment of our partner. You can watch the movie for free on Tubi, Pluto, or Plex.