Story: Dodi Al-Fayed was not the only one. This film is about the love-struck Princess of Wales' last real-life love affair with a Pakistani heart surgeon.
Review: Except for getting Princess Diana's iconic hairdo, outfits and head tilts right, Diana, the biopic fails to recreate the magic of the 'queen of hearts'. While she was loved for her style, concern for the helpless and unabashed speeches, her personal life invited unwanted media attention. Not one to follow the rulebook, her biopic fails to replicate the massive curiosity and intrigue she evoked during her tumultuous lifetime and death in 1997.
The film is based on her real-life relationship with a Pakistani heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan ( Naveen Andrews), whom she met two years before her death. The lesser known love affair disappoints, since it makes the film look like any other mediocre, run-of-the-mill romantic drama.
As a result, the immensely talented Naomi Watts too keeps slipping in and out of her larger-than-life character, making it hard for us to remember that we are watching a biopic on Diana in the first place. It's a pity that of all the Diana stories, the director chose to adapt this one for the big screen.
Unfortunately, the story-telling is as dull as the story. Dialogues fall flat. Sluggish pace and predictable confrontations make matters worse. Diana cooks, plays the piano, wears a wig, cleans her beau's room and does the dishes. This is all you get to see for over two hours. Her interaction and confessions with her acupuncturist would have made for a better story.
Surprisingly, the royal family members are kept off-screen. William and Harry barely make an appearance. This makes the on-screen Diana look too self-absorbed and detached from her children. Her falling for Hasnat (love at first sight) looks unconvincing and so does her on-off depression. The filmmaker however manages to touch your heart when you see the princess reaching out to the underprivileged.
If you are fine with seeing Diana as the 'needy' woman solely looking for love, living in suffocating secrecy, you may like the film. If you expect to revisit the aura of mystery surrounding her, you will be disappointed.