Ho Hum, Another Movie of the Week

Rating: 5/10 (31 January 2007)

Color me so disappointed in this film. Yes, Helen Mirren was wonderful, although I found her performance mainly a study in stoicism with only a few breaks into real humanity. The "plot" and writing were nowhere near the level I had expected for a film that has garnered as much attention as this has. It felt to me like yet another docudrama of the Royals, with cardboard predictability in all the characters except Elizabeth and just-call-me-Tony.
How much more interesting would this film have been had it shown with far greater detail the entire history of the complicated relationship between Elizabeth and Diana, instead of just the week surrounding her death. There were references to the history, but this film suffered a lack of complexity and drama without it having been portrayed.
What I did find fascinating and laudable was the seamless editing between actual news footage and this movie's scenes involving historical events. The marriage of the two was flawless and held the most interest for me throughout the film. If anyone deserves an award for the movie, the archivist and editors should be first in line.