Diana (film)

Diana is a 2013 biographical drama film, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, about the last two years of the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.[4] The screenplay is based on Kate Snell's 2001 book, Diana: Her Last Love, and was written by Stephen Jeffreys. British actress Naomi Watts plays the title role of Diana.

Diana
UK poster
Directed byOliver Hirschbiegel
Produced byRobert Bernstein
Douglas Rae
Screenplay byStephen Jeffreys
Based onDiana: Her Last Love
by Kate Snell
StarringNaomi Watts
Naveen Andrews
Music byKeefus Ciancia
David Holmes
CinematographyRainer Klausmann
Edited byHans Funck
Production
company
Ecosse Films
Le Pacte
Film i Väst
Filmgate Films
Scope Pictures
MP Film
Distributed byEntertainment One
Release date
  • 5 September 2013 (2013-09-05) (Premiere)
  • 20 September 2013 (2013-09-20) (United Kingdom)
Running time
113 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
France
Sweden
Belgium
LanguageEnglish
French
Swedish
Dutch
Budget$15 million[2]
Box office$21.7 million[3]

The world premiere of the film was held in London on 5 September 2013.[5][6] It was released in the UK on 20 September 2013.[7] The film received negative reviews from both British and American critics.

Plot

The film depicts the last two years of the princess's life, beginning with events when Diana (Naomi Watts) divorces Charles, Prince of Wales. She meets and falls in love with Pakistani heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews). The film depicts her tours of Angola, in her campaign against the use of land mines. Trips to causes in Australia, Pakistan, New York City, Bosnia, Italy, and ultimately, Paris are also shown, with recreations of the fashions she wore in real life. Her desire for a life with Khan ends due to his wish for a private life and objections to her celebrity. The film depicts her dating of Egyptian Dodi Fayed as an attempt to make Khan jealous, but it ends with the car crash that killed Diana, Fayed, and Fayed's driver in the Pont Alma Tunnel, in Paris – however, there is no re-enactment of the crash scene.

Cast

Production

The screenplay, which is based on Kate Snell's 2001 book, Diana: Her Last Love,[9] was written by Stephen Jeffreys. Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae produced the movie for Ecosse Films.[10]

Key scenes involving Diana and Dodi Fayed on his family yacht, Jonikal, were filmed on the 45m Luxury Charter Yacht Princess Iolanthe.[11] The opening and closing scenes at the Paris Ritz Imperial Suite were filmed at Fetcham Park House in Fetcham, Surrey.[12]

Reception

The film has received overwhelmingly negative reviews.[6] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 8% approval rating based on reviews from 97 critics and an average score of 3.5/10. The consensus states: "Naomi Watts tries hard in the title role, but Diana buries her efforts under a shoddy script and clumsy direction."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a 35 (out of 100), based on 28 reviews.[14]

David Edwards from The Mirror said it was a "cheap and cheerless effort that looks like a Channel 5 mid-week matinee" and that "Wesley Snipes in a blonde wig would be more convincing", awarding the film one star out of five.[15] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also awarded it one star out of five and called the film "car crash cinema".[16]

Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York called Watts's performance "extraordinary" and gave the film 3 stars out of 5, calling it "a restrained biopic that affords its subject the romantic privacy that life denied her."[17] Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times said that "once again Watts supplies the wattage" but that her performance is "frighteningly isolated... the compensating passion in a torpid drama."[18] Jim Schembri of 3AW praised Watts' "impressive performance" but remarked that the film "could actually have done with another half-hour putting more meat onto the bones of these underdeveloped chapters of her story. "[19] Dominic Corry of flicks.co.nz called the film "bad in the blandest way possible" and lamented that "Watts is let down by the Mills & Boon-level script".[20] Fionnuala Halligan of Screen Daily also criticised the writing, saying that Watts' "brave performance should not be under-estimated given the poverty of the dialogue and the pressure of the part."[21]

Naomi Watts received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress for her work in both this film and Movie 43, where she lost to Tyler Perry for his performance in drag in A Madea Christmas.

References
  1. "DIANA (12A)". E1 Films. British Board of Film Classification. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. "Diana". Dark Horizons. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  3. "Diana (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  4. Dibdin, Emma (4 July 2012). "Naomi Watts Princess Diana biopic renamed 'Diana' – first picture". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  5. "Naomi Watts prepares to rock as Princess Diana". Pakistan Today. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  6. "Diana film slammed by British press". BBC News. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  7. Peter Bradshaw (1 September 2013). "Film highlights of autumn 2013: from Diana to The Selfish Giant". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  8. "New Princess Diana movie features iconic Sunday Mirror front page". Daily Mirror. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  9. Andrew Pulver (26 August 2013). "Princess Diana film 'got it completely wrong' says former lover Hasnat Khan". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. "Rachel Portman Scoring Oliver Hirschbiegel's 'Diana'". Film Music Reporter. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  11. Yacht Charter, Fleet (6 September 2013). "Princess Diana Movie – Yacht Chartered during filming with Naomi Watts". YachtCharterFleet.
  12. Fetcham Park Stars As The Ritz, Paris In ‘Diana’ Film Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Yareah, 30 September 2013
  13. "Diana". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  14. "Diana". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  15. "Diana film review". The Mirror. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  16. "Diana – review". The Guardian. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  17. "Diana: movie review (PG-13)". Time Out New York. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  18. "Film reviews: Diana, Hawking, InRealLife, Kelly + Victor, The Call and Metro Manila". Financial Times. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. "New release movie reviews - October 10". 3AW. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  20. "REVIEW: DIANA". flicks.co.nz. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  21. "Diana". Screen Daily. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
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