But, if you want to extend your revelry with a trip to see ‘Diana’ at the cinema this weekend, bear in mind you may leave the auditorium fuming. The biopic of the Princess of Wales, who was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997, has been met with a backlash by reviewers. The reaction has come as quite a surprise to director Oliver Hirschbiegel.
Yet ‘Diana’, which stars Naomi Watts, has been blasted as ‘frivolous’, ‘shambolic’ and - our personal favourite - ‘royal with cheese’. It may be a defence mechanism, but the German director offered his theory about why the movie has been slated.....
He said: “The British reaction, in comparison to the reaction from the rest of the world, it is a bit surreal because here [in London] they hate it, but in Japan and Germany as far as I can tell so far, they love it. So my interpretation… is that it is a very un-British film, meaning there’s no sarcasm in it and no irony and no twist. It is straightforward, if you will - it is very German in that respect.”
The film focuses on a period of Diana’s life around the time of her divorce from Prince Charles, when she was having an affair with Hasnat Khan.
“I think they just didn’t want to see Diana being in love with that man - that is what I’m getting between the lines and I kind of understand that. But regardless, I can only tell the story the way I feel is right,” said Hirschbiegel. “The thing is, the reactions from most [critics] were very polemic. It is pretty hard to respond to that - it is much easier to get a negative review from a good critic, but most of it was just hostile, kind of like a collective hysteria.”
Hirschbiegel admitted that he didn’t know much about Diana’s story before the script landed on his desk, and was not particularly emotionally connected to it. Like the movie or not - and we will reserve judgement until it arrives here on Thursday - Hirschbiegel says he was drawn in because at the heart of it “was a very old-fashioned love story”.
He was well aware of the creative gamble in taking on the story of one who was loved by so many. He certainly put in legwork getting to know Diana, throwing himself headlong into the interview process with the people who knew the princess, plus reading and watching everything he could about her.
“Oonagh Toffolo was by far the most revealing source. She was a spiritual adviser or healer… She kind of opened my eyes to Diana spirituality, a dimension I didn’t find anywhere written down,” he says. It was the chance to attempt a telling of a lesser-know aspect of Diana’s life that attracted British actress Watts.
“I knew nothing about the [Hasnat Khan] relationship. Not that I was someone avidly following the front pages,” she says. “Having said that, even some of my British friends didn’t know about this. It made it interesting that it focused on that relationship.”
The breakdown of a personal relationship was made very public thanks to two candid TV interviews. And Watts was fascinated by the emotional aftermath for the People’s Princess.
She adds: “I think when the construct of marriage is broken down in any divorce, somebody is going to feel like their identity is going to change, and who do I become? I’ve seen friends go through that. So that interested me.” Despite the negative reaction, Hirschbiegel is considering making a few more biopics. “I’m currently studying the life of a very famous artist… If I’m fascinated with the characters and I see a way to do it, then I do it.”
3 comments:
He has got a point, and a very sound one.
The British are shallow.
It's very strong opening in Japan.
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