Diana (2013 film)

Last updated

Diana
Diana poster.jpg
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Screenplay by Stephen Jeffreys
Based onDiana: Her Last Love
by Kate Snell
Produced byRobert Bernstein
Douglas Rae
Starring Naomi Watts
Naveen Andrews
CinematographyRainer Klausmann
Edited byHans Funck
Music by David Holmes
Keefus Ciancia
Production
companies
Ecosse Films
Le Pacte
Film i Väst
Filmgate Films
Scope Pictures
MP Film
Distributed byMetrodome Distribution (United Kingdom)
Entertainment One (United States and Canada)
Le Pacte (France) [1]
Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden, Finland and Norway) [2]
Cinéart (Belgium) [2]
Release dates
  • 5 September 2013 (2013-09-05)(Premiere)
  • 20 September 2013 (2013-09-20)(United Kingdom)
Running time
113 minutes [3]
CountriesUnited Kingdom
France
Sweden
Belgium
LanguagesEnglish
French
Swedish
Dutch
Budget$15 million [4]
Box office$21.7 million [2]

Diana is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and written by Stephen Jeffreys. Naomi Watts stars as Diana, Princess of Wales, with Naveen Andrews, Douglas Hodge, and Geraldine James in supporting roles. [5]

Contents

Based on Kate Snell's 2001 book Diana: Her Last Love, the film focuses on the final two years of Diana's life, particularly her secret relationship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.

Diana had its world premiere in London on 5 September 2013 and was released in the UK on 20 September 2013. [6] [7] [8] The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics upon release, with sharp criticism for its direction, screenplay, and Watts' portrayal of the late Princess. [7] It performed relatively well at the box office, grossing $21.7 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million.

Plot

The film depicts the last two years of Diana, Princess of Wales's life, beginning with her divorce from Charles, Prince of Wales. Diana meets and falls in love with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. The film highlights her humanitarian work, including her tours of Angola in her campaign against the use of land mines. It also shows her trips to Australia, Pakistan, New York City, Bosnia, Italy, and ultimately Paris, with detailed recreations of her real-life outfits.

Diana’s relationship with Dr. Khan eventually ends due to his desire for a private life and discomfort with her celebrity status. The film portrays her subsequent affair with Anglo-Egyptian billionaire Dodi Fayed as a calculated effort to make Dr. Khan jealous. The story culminates in the fatal car crash that killed Diana, Fayed, and their driver in the Pont de l'Alma Tunnel in Paris—though the film does not re-enact the crash itself.

Cast

Production

The screenplay, based on Kate Snell's 2001 book Diana: Her Last Love, was written by Stephen Jeffreys. [10] Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae produced the film for Ecosse Films. [11]

Key scenes involving Diana and Dodi Fayed on his family yacht, Jonikal, were filmed on the luxury charter yacht Princess Iolanthe. [12] The opening and closing scenes at the Hôtel Ritz Paris' Imperial Suite were filmed at Fetcham Park House in Fetcham, Surrey. [13]

Reception

Diana received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics upon release, with sharp criticism for its direction, screenplay, and Naomi Watts' portrayal of the late Princess. [7]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 8% approval rating based on 97 reviews with an average score of 3.5/10. The critical consensus states: "Naomi Watts tries hard in the title role, but Diana buries her efforts under a shoddy script and clumsy direction." [14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 35 out of 100 based on 28 reviews. [15]

David Edwards from The Mirror criticized the film as a "cheap and cheerless effort that looks like a Channel 5 mid-week matinee" and quipped that "Wesley Snipes in a blonde wig would be more convincing," awarding the film 1 star out of 5. [16] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also gave it 1 star out of 5, dubbing the film "car crash cinema." [17]

However, some reviewers praised Watts' performance despite the overall negative reception. Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York called Watts's performance "extraordinary" and rated the film 3 stars out of 5, describing it as "a restrained biopic that affords its subject the romantic privacy that life denied her." [18] Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times praised Watts’ performance, saying "once again Watts supplies the wattage" but noted that her role felt "frighteningly isolated... the compensating passion in a torpid drama." [19] Jim Schembri of 3AW also praised Watts’ "impressive performance" but felt the film "could have done with another half-hour putting more meat onto the bones of these underdeveloped chapters of her story." [20] Dominic Corry of flicks.co.nz criticized the film as "bad in the blandest way possible" and lamented that "Watts is let down by the Mills & Boon-level script." [21] Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International echoed this, saying that Watts’ "brave performance should not be underestimated given the poverty of the dialogue and the pressure of the part." [22]

Awards

Naomi Watts received a nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performances in both Diana and Movie 43, but lost to Tyler Perry for his performance in drag in A Madea Christmas.

Soundtrack

Diana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Diana soundtrack.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Released23 September 2013 (2013-09-23)
Genre Soundtrack
Length36:15
Label Canderblinks
David Holmes soundtrack chronology
The Motel Life
(2012)
Diana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2013)
Light of My Eyes
(2014)
Keefus Ciancia soundtrack chronology
Nashville
(2013)
Diana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2013)
The Fall Season
(2013)
No.TitleLength
1."Culture of Duty"2:00
2."Lone Runner"1:23
3."Hospital"2:36
4."Lonely Souls"3:18
5."The Kiss"4:00
6."Missed You So Much"1:28
7."To the Edge of The..."1:58
8."Stranded"1:54
9."Underwater"1:15
10."Caught in Flight"1:40
11."New York City"2:25
12."It's Over"1:07
13."Kings Cross"1:22
14."Some Mother's Son"1:02
15."Call"1:04
16."Paparazzi"1:44
17."Alone"1:57
18."Gone"3:54
Total length:36:15

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed Al-Fayed</span> Egyptian businessman (1929–2023)

Mohamed Al-Fayed was an Egyptian billionaire businessman, whose residence and primary business interests were in the United Kingdom from the mid-1960s. His business interests included ownership of the Hôtel Ritz Paris, and Harrods department store and Fulham Football Club, both in London. At the time of his death in 2023, Fayed's wealth was estimated at US$2 billion by Forbes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana, Princess of Wales</span> Member of the British royal family (1961–1997)

Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour, which made her an international icon, earned her enduring popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodi Fayed</span> Egyptian film producer (1955–1997)

Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed, commonly known as Dodi Fayed, was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was romantically involved with Diana, Princess of Wales, when they both died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Watts</span> British actress (born 1968)

Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama For Love Alone (1986). She appeared in three television series, Hey Dad..! (1990), Brides of Christ (1991), and Home and Away (1991), and the film Flirting (1991). Ten years later, Watts moved to the United States, where she initially struggled as an actress. She took roles in small-scale films until she starred in her breakthrough role as an aspiring actress in David Lynch's psychological thriller Mulholland Drive in 2001.

A licence to kill, or license to kill in American English, is a licence granted by a government or government agency to a particular operative or employee to initiate the use of lethal force in the delivery of their objectives. The initiation of lethal force is in contrast to the use of lethal force in self-defence or the protection of life. It is well known as a literary device used in espionage fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Hirschbiegel</span> German film director (born 1957)

Oliver Hirschbiegel is a German film director. His works include Das Experiment and the Oscar-nominated Downfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Diana, Princess of Wales</span> 1997 fatal car crash

During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a fatal car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Diana's partner, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were found dead inside the car. Dodi's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was seriously injured and the only survivor of the crash.

Operation Paget was the British Metropolitan Police inquiry established in 2004 to investigate the conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris in 1997. The inquiry's first report with the findings of the criminal investigation was published in 2006. The inquiry was wound up following the conclusion of the British inquest in 2008, in which a jury delivered its verdict of an "unlawful killing" due to the "gross negligence" of both the driver of Diana's car and the pursuing paparazzi.

<i>Diana: Last Days of a Princess</i> Television Film

Diana: Last Days of a Princess is a television movie broadcast in the United States by TLC on 12 August 2007 and subsequent dates. It also has aired on Five, UKTV History and UKTV Drama in the United Kingdom, RTÉ in Ireland, ProSieben in Germany, TF1 in France, RTP in Portugal, Channel 7 in Australia, Channel One in Russia, Jim in Finland and the History Channel in India.

Hasnat Ahmed Khan is a British-Pakistani heart and lung surgeon. He is widely known for his romantic relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, from 1995 to 1997.

Paul Burrell is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Diana, Princess of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales</span>

There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 1997. Official investigations in both Britain and France found that Diana died in a manner consistent with media reports following the fatal car crash in Paris. In 1999, a French investigation concluded that Diana died as the result of a crash. The French investigator, Judge Hervé Stephan, concluded that the paparazzi were some distance from the Mercedes S280 when it crashed and were not responsible for manslaughter. After hearing evidence at the British inquest, a jury in 2008 returned a verdict of "unlawful killing" by driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi pursuing the car. The jury's verdict also stated: "In addition, the death of the deceased was caused or contributed to by the fact that the deceased were not wearing a seat belt and by the fact that the Mercedes struck the pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel rather than colliding with something else."

Unlawful Killing is a 2011 British documentary film about the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed on 31 August 1997 directed by Keith Allen and financed by Dodi's father Mohamed Al-Fayed at a reported cost of £2.5m. It had a single trade screening during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Kate Snell is a British author and filmmaker. She researched the life of Princess Diana and published a book, Diana: Her Last Love (2000), which is the basis for the film, Diana (2013) and British Indian actor Naveen Andrews as Dr. Hasnat Khan. A reissue of Diana: Her Last Love appeared as a tie-in to the film and was published in August 2013 by Andre Deutsch, an imprint of Carlton Books.

Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess is a 1998 television film about Diana, Princess of Wales.

<i>The Crown</i> (TV series) Historical drama television series

The Crown is a historical drama television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix. Morgan developed the series from his film The Queen (2006) and his stage play The Audience (2013), which also focused on Elizabeth.

<i>Innocent Victims</i> Statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed displayed in Harrods between 2005–2018

Innocent Victims is a copper statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, which was on display at the Harrods department store in London, England, between 2005 and 2018. It was commissioned by Dodi's father Mohamed Al-Fayed when he owned Harrods, and designed by William Mitchell.

<i>The Crown</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth and final season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix in two volumes. The first volume of four episodes was released on 16 November 2023, and the second, consisting of six episodes, was released on 14 December. The season began production shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022.

<i>The Crown</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 9 November 2022. It was the first season of the series to be released following both the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 9 April 2021 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022; filming took place between the former and the latter's death. The season was promoted with the tagline "A House Divided".

Kelly Movshina, previously known as Kelly Fisher, is an American property developer and former model. Throughout her modeling career, she appeared in advertisement campaigns for fashion brands including Calvin Klein, Victoria's Secret, Armani, and La Perla. She was featured on the covers of Vogue, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, W and Elle.

References

  1. "Caught in Flight (2013)". UniFrance . Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Diana (2013)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  3. "DIANA (12A)". Metrodome Distribution. British Board of Film Classification. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  4. "Diana". Dark Horizons. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  5. Dibdin, Emma (4 July 2012). "Naomi Watts Princess Diana biopic renamed 'Diana' – first picture". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Naomi Watts prepares to rock as Princess Diana". Pakistan Today. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Diana film slammed by British press". BBC News. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  8. Peter Bradshaw (1 September 2013). "Film highlights of autumn 2013: from Diana to The Selfish Giant". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  9. "New Princess Diana movie features iconic Sunday Mirror front page". Daily Mirror. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  10. Andrew Pulver (26 August 2013). "Princess Diana film 'got it completely wrong' says former lover Hasnat Khan". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  11. "Rachel Portman Scoring Oliver Hirschbiegel's 'Diana'". Film Music Reporter. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  12. Yacht Charter, Fleet (6 September 2013). "Princess Diana Movie – Yacht Chartered during filming with Naomi Watts". YachtCharterFleet.
  13. Fetcham Park Stars As The Ritz, Paris In ‘Diana’ Film Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine , Yareah, 30 September 2013
  14. "Diana". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  15. "Diana". Metacritic . Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  16. "Diana film review". The Mirror. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  17. "Diana – review". The Guardian. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  18. "Diana: movie review (PG-13)". Time Out New York . 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. "Film reviews: Diana, Hawking, InRealLife, Kelly + Victor, The Call and Metro Manila". Financial Times . 19 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  20. "New release movie reviews - October 10". 3AW . 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  21. "REVIEW: DIANA". flicks.co.nz. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  22. "Diana". Screen Daily . 6 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.