When Diana premiered to a dismal response from critics and audiences alike, rogerebert.com contributor Ali Arikan admitted one saving grace, writing: “to her credit, Naomi Watts does a more-than-passable job of playing Diana.” I can’t say the same. Poorly cast and labouring with less-than-passable dialogue, there aren’t enough acting chops in the celebrity butcher shop for Watts to convincingly portray the legendary Spencer stunner. Diana was uncommonly tall, slim and statuesque—a leggy unknown would have been better than an impossibly-recognizable A-lister who is four inches too short. Lacking more than the right leading lady, this biopic eschews perspective, context and well-rounded characterization. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel has exceptional material—the last years of Diana’s public life and her love affair with the very private Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Kahn (Naveen Andrews)—but he doesn’t do it justice. Gorgeous sets, locations and actors aren’t enough. Hirschbiegel’s film comes off the same way he portrayed the title character’s life: opulent but empty.
This article appears in Mar 13-19, 2014.
