This intense biopic directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel concentrates on the last two years of Diana’s life after she divorced from Prince Charles , specifically on her relationship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan , providing details about how the Princess and Khan met. We also learn various details about her relationship with Dodi Fayed.

Most people over a certain age will remember where they were when they heard the news about Diana and Dodi’s death. The movie begins on that fatal August night in Paris, 1997, : there is an ominous pause and almost turn back before her entering the lift – and then  flashes back a couple of years to  show her troubled,  stormy  affair with the handsome Pakistani heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews).

Diana, by then separated from Charles for three years, struggles to keep this private and personable man away from the microscopic flashbulb glare and analysis  in which she has lived her entire adult life. She disguises herself in a black wig to go out on dates with Hasnat, becoming virtually unrecognisable. She hides him under a blanket in the car home, (although obvious to the security guards at the Palace ), she even visits his large extended family back in Pakistan. Their relationship unravels because, as Khan keeps reminding us, she’s “the most famous woman in the world” – and the mad, relentless paparazzi won’t give her a moment’s peace.

In this film the Diana myth and legend is continued, – we see how the ‘Queen of Hearts’ was a very lonely and stressed woman. We see Diana try to establish strategies to deal with the incessant media attention yet she creates a maelstrom of events that spiral out of control, and even ignores her advisors.

In the preparations for her TV interview with Martin Bashir, (the famous ‘there are three of us in this marriage’ interview ) we see her rehearsing using the bathroom mirror. Later, she contacts her tame photographer to snatch exclusive shots of herself on Dodi’s yacht, the strongest indication of the Russian Roulette she played with Fleet Street : she despised the excessive attention, and yet simultaneously craved it . Dodi, by the way , is presented in this movie  as a rebound fling intended to make Hasnat jealous . There are some amazing scenes on Fayed’s oversized luxury liner.

Naomi Watts as Diana is sensational; giving a luminous, multi layered performance as the iconic ,fragile princess who only wanted to be loved and accepted. We see examples of her humanitarian work (her anti- landmines  campaigning, visiting hospitals , charity fundraising). She has the accent and the coy , head tilted look down pat and is stunning in some of the dresses . We also see her attempt to cook, her swearing…

Her entourage is only rather superficially shown: Geraldine James is a masseuse who is virtually a therapist , Juliet Stevenson plays an older friend who rescues  her from misery and crisis  in the small hours , and Douglas Hodge plays her butler Paul Burrell  .Charles Edwards is excellent as her much put upon assistant Patrick Jephson.

Sydney gets a mention as Diana was here to deliver a keynote speech for the Victor Chang foundation .But things go wrong and we see Diana’s fights with Khan over her trying to ‘help’ him. He has a vocation as a surgeon and is a very private man.

Naveen Andrews as Khan gives a magnificent performance as a man unexpectedly catapulted into a whirlwind of events he can’t control His world collides with Diana’s and makes their relationship too difficult.

Could they have actually lived happily together? Would his family have accepted her? Diana tries to do good and help people, Khan saves lives with his work as a doctor. But would he be able to continue his work if they married? We see things from both Diana’s and Khan’s point of view. While she is presented as a very loving mother we see very little of Princes William and Harry, and nothing of Charles.

There is a great use of intimate close-ups and also wonderful panoramic shots, including those of Kensington Palace. The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, popular and French romantic songs.

An interesting if a little flawed bio-pic, one suspects that the real Diana is yet to be revealed.

DIANA THE MOVIE premiered in Sydney on September 19. The running time is 113 minutes.