Grace and Diana

Two of the most famous royals in history with two of the most fascinating personal histories of the 20th century.  And yet the life stories of Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales have proved impossible to tell for film makers.  The new film about Grace has received widespread bad reviews while last year's biopic of Diana was panned just as widely.  The reception from critics for both movies begs the question of why these two fascinating women are so difficult to portray.

Princess Grace of Monaco with the then Lady Diana Spencer and her fiance, Prince Charles, at an event in London in 1981

Diana and Grace were famously photographed together just a week after it was announced that Prince Charles was to marry the youngest daughter of Earl Spencer.  Already the centre of huge media excitement, Diana stepped from her car in a black strapless dress by the Emmanuels and set flash bulbs off for miles around.  Later, feeling uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving, she was comforted by Grace who is reported to have told her not to worry as things 'would only get worse'. This brief crossing of paths of arguably the two most famous princesses of the 20th century is yet another chapter in both of their astonishing stories.  And yet for all the magic that they wove in real life, finding a film version of their tales that does justice to reality seems to be getting harder as time goes on.

Nicole Kidman has won favourable reviews for her portrayal of Princess Grace but the film in which she plays the movie star turned royal star is being widely panned

Perhaps it is the fact that both women were so well loved and so popular that makes telling their tale hard work for film makers.  It is almost as if their stories have been told so many times already that there is nothing new to say.  When the whole audience knows everything about the people on the screen then finding ways to surprise and entertain becomes harder.  The critics of the film about Diana mentioned poor dialogue and dull storylines in their reviews and the same issues have come up with the movie about Grace.  Hearing what you've already heard many times before is never going to have the thrill factor that a totally new story packs.  And the truth for both Grace and Diana is that reality is far more interesting than anything a semi fictionalised account can produce.  Bringing to life women who were larger than life seems to lead film makers into trouble.

Naomi Watts as Diana, Princess of Wales in the 2013 film about her

Diana and Grace dominated the ages in which they lived and redefined what it is to be a royal.  Their legacy lives on, years after their tragically early deaths.  Perhaps they are such big icons that it will take decades for their tales to be accessible to film makers.  Both films, according to the critics, have suffered from portraying these two world famous women as icons.  But both are still so loved that to produce a negative version of their lives would lead to criticism too as well as accusations of cashing in on their fame by being needlessly controversial.  In the meantime, the lesson from these two major biopics seems to be that if you want a fairytale ending for your film, leave the fairytale princesses out of it.