Diana (2013)

Focusing on the last two years in the life of Princess Diana (Naomi Watts looking like a young Helen Mirren), post Prince Charles and pre Dodi Fayed, and her romance with a Pakistani heart surgeon (Naveen Andrews, THE ENGLISH PATIENT). Not surprisingly, the film opened to scathing reviews in Great Britain. The surprise is that while it's not good, it's not totally bad either. Never rising above, and I'm being generous here, adequate; it nevertheless presents a well balanced look at Diana. She's not portrayed as Saint Diana by a long shot but neither is she portrayed as mindless tabloid fashion icon/publicity hound. More importantly the central performance by Naomi Watts is excellent! Acknowledged that she can't overcome the script's inherent weakness (critics who've compared it to a Lifetime movie aren't far off) but Watts brings a genuine naivete (she wasn't the brightest) and humanity to her Diana. Recommended if you love good acting but if acting isn't that important to you, it can be skipped. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel with a very good underscore by David Holmes and Keefus Ciancia. With Juliet Stevenson, Geraldine James, Art Malik, Charles Edwards and Michael Byrne.