Stars : Nicole Kidman & Tim Roth
Watch on : Prime Video
Let’s do a fact-check to thrill the cockles of the hearts of cinema lovers of vintage (1950-60s) films : What’s common to the Hollywood classics of the bygone era that were of the likes of ‘Mogambo’, ‘High Noon’,‘Dial M for Murder’, ‘Rear Window’,‘Bridges of Tokori’ and ‘To Catch a Thief’ ? The ‘sahi’ answer would be ‘Grace Kelly’, the ethereally beautiful actress who played the lead role in the above Hollywood movies & others too.
A favourite of the legendary ‘thriller genre’ film-maker Alfred Hitchcock, Kelly in her hey days (the 1950s) loomed large in Hollywood lore. It’s unfortunate that her screen acting career lasted less than a decade. In 1955, Kelly met Prince Rainier of Monaco while she was in France for the Cannes Film Festival. They married in April 1956 and the glamorous union caused a media frenzy. Then on, Kelly would be Princess Grace.
The film ‘Grace of Monaco’ may at first appear like a documentary on the life and times of Princess Grace as she became an integral part of monarchical set up of Monaco, a small kingdom in France which was politically fighting for its survival as a nation and against the might of De Gaulle the French President. Nicole Kidman portraysGrace with finesseanddepth – the deep cultural, social & language barriers that confront her as she struggles with politics, protocols and rules to be adhered living in a huge palace.
Then comes the resolute and resilient side to Grace that surfaces as she in her utter disenchantment, turns to the family elder. He advises that knowing the language and imbibing the French ethos and way of life,was essential to become worthy of her title. Gradually she finds her bearings while learning the ‘royal’ ropes, performing her daily duties as princess and becoming involved in philanthropic work as tradition dictated.
As a royal, understanding the resistance from her people, Kelly gave up acting entirely while many directors including the great Hitchcock tried to woo her back to movies, she turned them down (returning laterin TV specials &shows). As a devoted wife, it pained her to find her husband cornered by political adversaries and she takes it upon herself to engage with the affairs of the state and help her husband in his titular role. She achieves this with panache and literally earns respect of her husband,the Prince !
The film almost entirely belongs to Nicole Kidman who puts in a stellar performance and lives the challenge of playing a remarkable princess who was truly one of a kind !
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