Grace of Monaco.

To get the most pleasure out of watching Oliver Dahan’s latest movie I would suggest you take note of the following. It’s a film and not a historical fact sheet. Secondly it’s a piece of entertainment and not a political statement, as obviously most of us would not support a tax bolthole for billionaires! And finally it was never meant to be a biopic[1]. Follow these simple guidelines and you will be able to sit back and enjoy his entertainingly lavish Mills and Boon type production.

Princess Grace of Monaco.

Grace of Monaco (2014) is the story of the former Hollywood film star Grace Kelly who married Prince Rainier, ruling monarch of the Principality of Monaco, in 1956 and relinquished a successful acting career. The film covers a short period in the 1960’s when Kelly’s marriage was going through a crisis at the same time as her husband was in tax squabble with Charles de Gaulle President of France and the creepy Alfred Hitchcock was trying to persuade Princess Grace to return to Hollywood to play the leading role in Marnie (1964).

 

The Royal Wedding.

The film itself was almost never released in the USA when Harvey Weinstein was tempted to cowl tail to the Monaco royalty. It stars Nicole Kidman in the role of Grace Kelly/Princess Grace who makes this character study of an unhappy woman in an unhappy situation totally believable although I’m not sure Tim Roth does the same for Rainier? Escapist fiction maybe, but sometimes that can be a relief from the harsh political realities of modern life, but isn’t that one of the reasons for cinema?

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[1] “This is not a biopic or a fictionalized documentary of Grace Kelly, but only a small part of her life where she reveals her great humanity as well as her fears and weaknesses” Nicole Kidman Le Figaro 2012.