Well, that's an hour and some minutes of my life I will never get back again . . . .
I'm sure I've seen worse movies, but just can't think of one right now. ``Grace of Monaco'' is the 2014 film -- about which the Grimaldi family protested mightily -- made by director Olivier Dehan.
In the fmily Nicole Kidman is certainly gorgeous and serene as the late Grace Kelly, but the movie starts nowhere and doesn't progress an inch. I remember Prince Rainier as elegant and swashbuckling, but in Tim Roth's portrayal, he is both gross and nerdy. It would be hard to imagine what a glamorous movie start saw in him if the prince were actually like Roth's presentation. The only really interesting character is Maria Callas, played by Paz Vega, although the scene of her and Grace together on horseback in the hills of Monaco defies even a willing suspension of disbelief.
I was too young at the time to remember the tax showdown between Charles de Gaulle and Rainier, so I guess the film was useful in giving some background information. However I sincerely doubt that Grace's impassioned speech at the Red Cross Ball was sufficient to turn the tide against France.
I also hadn't known that Ranier's elder sister Antoinette had conspired against him with plans to have Rainier lose the throne and have her and her son installed as Monaco's rulers instead. Apparently that actually did happen. But that onlycemented my appreciation of that famous quotation about Monaco's being a ``sunny place for shady people.''
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