The talents of German Director Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Downfall) captures the emotions, celebrity, elegance and romance as Diana (Naomi Watts, The Impossible) portrays her struggles with single life in Kensington Palace after suffering not only a public and humiliating divorce from Prince Charles of the British throne, but being ostracized from the Royal Family and isolated from her two true loves, her precious boys, Princes William and Harry.
The movie Diana captures the human side of this iconic figure: her vulnerabilities, her capriciousness, and her insatiable desire to be loved as a woman should be loved. Naveen Andrews (Lost) as Dr. Hasmat Khan, a Pakistani heart surgeon, provides a passionate and devoted lover who recognizes her sensitivity to suffering and shares her intense desire to heal the world. The couple recognizes that they are undeniably soul mates from the beginning, enjoy the romance that their affection allows them to share, and together face the challenge of their desire to marry and live together away from the Royal Family.
The Brits -- and the world -- loved Diana. She showed a character of daring, strength, just a little bit of a rebel, with a genuine love for the people. She used her celebrity to expose and bring recovery to her special charities, such as the restoration of life, limb and land to those injured by the devastation of war, and raising funds for AIDS relief -- while leaving the dedicated doctor successfully burrowed in his personal private career. However, it was only a matter of time before their simple amour was unveiled and it was left to survive the pressures of the impending media madness. The unconscionable paparazzi besieged the couple at every turn creating a fire of public, family and political tensions.
The Bonus Features introduce Diana Fashion Photo Booklet and highlight interviews with cast, crew, director, producer, production and costume designers. During these interviews, several unknown facts were revealed about the secret love affair between Hasmat and Diana. Even though this relationship was kept private and out of the public eye for as long as possible, the media focused on Diana's rebound relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed (Cas Anvar, Shattered Glass), the son of an Egyptian billionaire, which supposedly only lasted 26 days. And, it is believed that this couple caught up in tragedy's grasp, acknowledged the impossibility of their controversial relationship, and continued to love each other with a timeless and undying devotion.
The movie begins very delicately with Diana and Dodi walking out of their Parisian hotel on August 30, 1997. Great care was taken to re-enact this scene with fragility so as not to offend the family, and maintain the individuality and respectability of both Diana and the Doctor. The historic scenes and costumes were researched and presented with authenticity, but not as a documentary. Two of the gowns individually designed for Diana herself were used in the making of this film. Sound and picture crispness were excellent, as well as acting, writing, and technicalities.
I thought Diana was an excellent movie. Its a tenderhearted story of pure love denied the right of survival by public judgment. It sheds light into the personality, desires, hopes and dreams of one of the most famous women on Earth. Her presence in the Royal Family brought flexibility, compassion, generosity, harmony and humanity to the rigidity between the Royals and the People.
Through the fulfillment of romantic love, Diana matured and broke out of the bounds of her traditional heritage. Her generosity and compassion touched the heart and soul of her public and places her eternally in high esteem. I, for one, was captivated by her life, her sorrow, her celebrity, and her desire to help others along the way. This movie gave her character more depth and reality. While some reviews of this film were unfavorable, I gave it a high rating and feel blessed to have greater insight into this incredible renown personality. I believe that Diana, herself, would have given her consent and approval of this endearing portrayal, and I hope you will too.
