I remember when Princess Diana died. I had never heard of her – I was only ten, after all, and I didn't really have much awareness of the world outside my own sterile upbringing. But I distinctly remember going out to pick up the newspaper that morning and seeing the huge headline with her face splashed all over the front page. And then in school we talked about it, and I knew it was a big deal and people were sad about it, but all I knew was that a princess had died.
I still don't know anything about her, so I can't attest to the accuracy of anything we discuss here (actually, since we're on that subject, check out this article about why so much creative license is used in retelling true stories), but what interests me here, really, is that this is a love story, and the obligatory obstacle to the love is the pressures of society when a couple just want to be left alone to explore and fulfill their love. Most people, probably, have been in a relationship at some point of which their friends or family didn't approve, or made it difficult for them. Imagine this on a global scale, not necessarily disapproval, but just wanting to fulfill a relationship and having everybody down your back about it. Sounds wretched.
And that is what the film Diana is about, starring Naomi Watts as the titular princess. The film tells the story of the last two years of Diana's life as she divorces Prince Charles and subsequently meets surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews from Lost), with whom she begins a passionate romance. Spoiler alert: we can presume it doesn't work out, because of history.
Diana is currently playing at Village 8 Theaters as part of the Louisville Exclusives series. Village 8 is located at 4014 Dutchmans Lane. Further theater information and showtimes can be found at the Village 8 website.
Image: Internet Movie Database
