Capsule Film Review: Grace of Monaco (2014)

Grace of Monaco, 2014 biopic dedicated to American film actress and Monegasque princess Grace Kelly, enjoyed reputation of being among the most controversial films of the year. This was partly due to open enmity of Monegasque royal family towards the project and partly due to open feud between director Oliver Dahan and producer Harvey Weinstein over the final cut. In the end Dahan won, but his version didn't win critics. This could be explained not only by Grace of Monaco being just another routine Oscar-grabbing biopic, but also by poor script of Arash Amel who tried to build plot over Grace Kelly's aborted attempt to return to acting and intertwine between tax dispute between De Gaulle's France and Monaco, which was rather unconvincingly portrayed as international problem in league with Cuban missile crisis. Apart from few scenes that manage to reconstruct all the glitz and glamour of early 1960s Monaco, the main asset of the film is good acting by Nicole Kidman in title role, but her efforts are compromised by less quality among the rest of the cast, most notably visibly uninspired Tim Roth in the role of Prince Rainer.

RATING: 4/10