Coming from Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel, Diana offers a look inside the life of the beloved Princess Diana, played by Naomi Watts, mainly focusing on the relationship between her and heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews), and taking in the public reaction to her tragic death in 1997. Aiming for a pared back and realistic retelling of Diana's life, this biopic sadly misses the mark for the most, delivery a totally charmless account of a public figure that deserves a whole lot more.
Kicking off three years after Diana's separation from Prince Charles, Hirschbiegel attempts to take us inside Diana's daily life, and while it is a laudable approach, humanising a person we've have only seen on t.v screens and newspapers, it completely fails here, leading to an opening act that consists of random scenes of the princess watching t.v., making toast etc. It's not really the way to hook us in, especially since we are dropped in cold, not given enough detail on how we got to this current situation. Sure, Diana's life was public knowledge, but a little more set up would have been nice. The story really starts when Diana meets Khan, but the two actors exhibit exactly zero chemistry. Their affair is explored in great detail, going through the many ups and downs, but again we don't really get any feeling from it, making a good chunk of the movie a slog to get through. The overall story feels disjointed, jumping years and continents at a time, coming across as more of a collection of disparate scenes than an actual narrative. It lacks any emotional punch, when it desperately needs it, and misses a beat by not putting more focus on the paparazzi's ill fated obsession with her.
As Diana, Watts does a good job of capturing the princess's mannerisms and voice, while not really resembling her that much. She does bring a lot to the role, showing off Dina's public persona as the People's Princess, as well as giving us a glimpse at her more manipulative side, suggesting she had a hand in her own downfall. She does get a few moments to shine, but is ultimately let down by a poor script. As is Naveen Andrews, who comes across as a complete non entity, as if he is playing Khan as bland as he can go. The supporting cast also make little to no impression, putting even more pressure on the lead pair.
Lacking the punch to really bring this story to life, Diana ultimately falls flat, leading to biopic devoid of the charm the film's subject matter exhibited in real life.
Kicking off three years after Diana's separation from Prince Charles, Hirschbiegel attempts to take us inside Diana's daily life, and while it is a laudable approach, humanising a person we've have only seen on t.v screens and newspapers, it completely fails here, leading to an opening act that consists of random scenes of the princess watching t.v., making toast etc. It's not really the way to hook us in, especially since we are dropped in cold, not given enough detail on how we got to this current situation. Sure, Diana's life was public knowledge, but a little more set up would have been nice. The story really starts when Diana meets Khan, but the two actors exhibit exactly zero chemistry. Their affair is explored in great detail, going through the many ups and downs, but again we don't really get any feeling from it, making a good chunk of the movie a slog to get through. The overall story feels disjointed, jumping years and continents at a time, coming across as more of a collection of disparate scenes than an actual narrative. It lacks any emotional punch, when it desperately needs it, and misses a beat by not putting more focus on the paparazzi's ill fated obsession with her.
As Diana, Watts does a good job of capturing the princess's mannerisms and voice, while not really resembling her that much. She does bring a lot to the role, showing off Dina's public persona as the People's Princess, as well as giving us a glimpse at her more manipulative side, suggesting she had a hand in her own downfall. She does get a few moments to shine, but is ultimately let down by a poor script. As is Naveen Andrews, who comes across as a complete non entity, as if he is playing Khan as bland as he can go. The supporting cast also make little to no impression, putting even more pressure on the lead pair.
Lacking the punch to really bring this story to life, Diana ultimately falls flat, leading to biopic devoid of the charm the film's subject matter exhibited in real life.
