Diana

Diana

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Oliver Hirschbiegel comes an intense look at the iconic Princess Diana from a less iconic view. Trying to find privacy and a life for herself, this story centers on the last two years of her life.

Looking for a sense of purpose she get involved in the fight to get rid of landmines and Diana (Naomi Watts) is also looking for the one thing that seems to have eluded her – love.

Until she meets Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews) and falls in love. Their affair is filled with secrecy, excitement and a peak into a life Diana has always wanted. Unfortunately there happiness comes at a price for them both bringing Diana back to the place of unhappiness she’s know too well.

Trying to find solace is where most people know the story of Dodi Fayed (Cas Anvar) and the fateful event that took Diana too soon.

FINAL WORD: Watts as Princess Diana is definitely a surprise choice but one that works. Embracing the role Watts has moments when I was honestly surprised by her performance. Taking on the high emotions of the script she also gives the performance humanity and warmth – and some smiles.

Andrews as Hasnat portrays the heart surgeon as such a gentle, funny and compassionate person. Now in a situation that is more complicated than he ever could have anticipated, Andrews shows the complexity and pain of loving a woman who, no matter how hard he tried, fit into his life.

Director Oliver Hirschbiegel says of his story, “It is a very moving and universal love story, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. These days it’s a rather old fashioned genre if you will and these kinds of films are not made anymore really.”

And why the story of Diana, Hirschbiegel says, “The story of DIANA is something I always wanted to do. It is a very moving and universal love story. They loved each other so much yet they were in a corner and trapped and didn’t know how to make it work. I think it’s something people can relate to even if they are not in a situation like that because it’s a general question.”

Other cast include: Douglas Hodge as Paul Burrell, Geraldine James as Oonagh Toffolo, Charles Edwards as Patrick Jephson, Daniel Pirrie as Jason Fraser, Juliet Stevenson as Sonia, Jonthan Kerrigan as Colin, Leeanda Reddy as Nasreen, Art Malik as Samundar, Michael Hadley as Joseph Toffollo, Laurence Belcher as Prince William and Harry Holland as Prince Harry. 

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give DIANA three tubs of popcorn out of five. This is a story that many do not know and trust me I asked. It also isn’t an easy story to tell since Diana herself was so complex and caught up in a world she couldn’t fit into no matter how hard she tried.

Keeping the story about Diana was very well done leaving the rest of the family out of it except for small mentions or scenes here and there. It was a story about her love affair and keeping it that way in the film allows the viewer to perhaps see Diana in a more non-Princess way. Perhaps the same as the people around the world who loved her – Princess or not.

In the end – the only thing more incredible than the life she led was the secret she kept.