Diana

DIANA was almost universally panned on its release in September, and continues to attract negative comments from users. In truth it is not as bad as it was made out to be, even though some of the details seem implausible (would Diana (Naomi Watts) be able to leave Kensington Palace on her nocturnal visits to Hasnat (Naveen Andrews) so easily, without being discovered or hounded by reporters?) Nonetheless Oliver Hirschbiegel's film does a competent job of portraying the sheer loneliness of Diana's existence in Kensington Palace, surrounded by servants but with no one to love her. Although tremendously popular with people and the media alike, she cannot get close to anyone; and when she does, her love-affair is doomed. Watts does not resemble Diana facially, but she does a good job of conveying both the good and not-so- good sides of her character; her desire to help people, her feeling of alienation from all families, and her tendency to manipulate the media to suit her purposes. The film suggests, perhaps controversially, that Diana brought much of the press harassment on herself, especially when she asks a trusted photographer to take snaps of herself and Dodi Fayed (Cas Anvar), with the sole purpose of making Hasnat jealous, and thereby encouraging him to call her again after a long interval. She certainly knows how to portray herself on screen - as seen, for instance, in her celebrated interview with the BBC's Martin Bashir (Prasanna Puwanrajah), where she deliberately adopts a pose for the camera so as to obtain maximum sympathy from viewers. Nonetheless the film does suggest that she was more sinned against than sinning - a victim, perhaps, of the contemporary obsession with fame and celebrity.

I can understand why Diana might be a disappointment for most.

If one is after a detailed portrait of "The Loneliness of the Disaffected Princess" then this film will only partially fulfill.

If, however, one is after a simple, easy to watch love story about the affair so well hidden from the public eye in the 18 months prior to her sudden death, then fulfilled you shall be.

The disappointment for me came from the fact Diana's director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, created Downfall, the depiction of Hitler's final days. The film was an Oscar nominee, a deserved reward for its depth. Diana is his first foray into a love story. He talks of his research coming from the 2004 inquiry and The Kate Snell book of the affair. I suggest that the details coming from those sources was light and frothy.

The film is pleasant enough with a shallowness to match a children's wading pool, but as I say, it depends on what you are expecting. Oh, and Naomi Watts is lovely but not quite as beautiful as The Princess we remember!

Entering the cinema auditorium with a pre-conceived pessimistic judgment on the film yet determined to watch it anyways, I can only say that I am glad that I had not allowed for media and critic opinion to dissuade me from watching "Diana." The film does not portray Diana in a bad way at all. If anything, it reiterates the absolute disgusting habits our press have had in terms of absolute disregard and disrespect for people's privacy. You feel a certain connection with Diana throughout the film, and see her for the "normal person" she was deep down. Naomi Watts' performance was spectacular, and she certainly did Diana justice. Although the film is most certainly disliked by many - i.e: the media, Islamophobes and daily mail readers... It is disliked for the mere fact that the film provides an insight into things that make certain people very uncomfortable, such as the prospect of the Princess of Wales marrying to a Pakistani Muslim, and the fact that Diana was actually a human being, with feelings, and with a difficult life.

So all I can say is, ignore the media, and make judgements for yourself. Perhaps after watching the film, you would rate it as highly as I have, or perhaps you may walk out half way through... Regardless, it's a fantastic film with a beautiful portrayal of the 'People's Princess'... Be warned: Take some Kleenex with you...The ending... is rather emotional

Diana, not making a peep upon its release nor since, is one of those movies that simply exists where neither its content nor the way it was put together, where the techniques used to convey a well-known story, brought about no great insight, revelation or even valid emotional impact that only served to re-enforce the fact there was no reason for it to exist. It seems no matter how much director Oliver Hirschbiegel thought he might bring an interesting point of view to this film his attempts end up being completely ineffective in the fact that a majority of the people interested in the figure of Diana, Princess of Whales likely knew everything this movie would be bringing to the table (or had already read it in Kate Snell's book on which the screenplay was based) and thus found no reason to watch famous people play dress-up and re-hash the events of their beloved Diana while no doubt dramatizing it as much as possible. There was no need for a film though not because we all know how it turns out, but because Diana was such a figure that the public felt like they knew so well, personally even, that it is almost a betrayal to them to see this actress portray a part of the peoples princess they might not have seen before. This is no fault of the writers, filmmakers or actors and obviously is an element they have no control over, but while it may have felt like a valiant effort, a story worth bringing to a feature film the end result is something that points to every reason why it wasn't a good idea. All of that being said, there is indeed an effort put forth here and despite the bad press it received before it was given a chance there is a Naomi Watts performance here that while she no doubt had much higher hopes for it should be recognized as what it is: convincing on what were impossible levels. The same stigma that applied to the movie applies to the person picked to play Diana and the performance they ultimately gave. What Watts is able to do is somehow transcend the barrage of images we've all seen and do what the movie as a whole wasn't able to do and that is make us believe in this material. No, I didn't necessarily enjoy the film or find much of it interesting, but it has its moments and it had enough to show there is a solid biography to be made about Diana, but this just isn't it.

I went to see the film 'Diana' this afternoon and can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The film took me on a very convincing journey into what it must have been like for Diana as she struggled with coming to terms with her own inner conflicts (eg the feeling that she was destined always to be an 'outsider' to whatever family she aspired to belong to) while striving to rebuild a life for herself after separating from Prince Charles and to find the love she so desperately yearned for. The story is by turns happy and sad. I found myself smiling for Diana when things were going well, heartbroken when they weren't. Naomi Watts does an absolutely amazing job of portraying Diana. Her's is undoubtedly the weightiest role in the film and she puts her heart and soul into it with a wonderfully nuanced performance. Naveen Andrews playing the part of Dr Hasnat Khan also deserves much credit. Other actors and actresses played lesser roles, but all were well cast and contributed significantly as members of Diana's remaining 'entourage' (some also in roles as 'confidants'). Cinematography, location photography, interiors, sets, music and directing were all excellent. I've never been much of a 'royalty follower', but having seen this film I feel I know a lot more about Diana, her day to day life, and the last love of her all too short life. Don't be put off by low ratings (or negative reviews) - this is a moving and well made film. Highly recommended. 8/10.