Diana

image for Diana

Short takes

Not recommended under 14, PG 14 to 15 due to themes.

Age
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
classification logo

This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Diana
  • a review of Diana completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 10 October 2013.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 14 Not recommended due to lack of interest for young children, themes and coarse language.
Children 14 to 15 Parental guidance recommended due to themes
Children 15 and over OK for this age group

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Diana
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Coarse language
Length: 113 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Diana is a biopic of Diana the Princess of Wales (played by Naomi Watts) based on Kate Snell’s book Diana: Her Last Love.  The film spans the final two years of Diana’s life, a period of her life which was largely keep under wraps from the British and world media.  The film tells the story of how Diana meets Hasnat Khan (played by Naveen Andrews), a neurosurgeon, after her divorce from Prince Charles.  Khan falls unexpectedly for the most ‘loved woman on the planet’.  A passionate love affair between the two ensues despite the challenges of family, duty and the public limelight.  The idyllic love is challenged when Khan begins to shun the public and media intrusion on his normally private existence. 

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Divorce; children as victims of land mines; death

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • A verbal argument between Khan and Diana, where Diana runs off distressed
  • Reference to Diana’s death in a car crash.  Scenes of the death are not seen but the grieving from the nation afterwards is portrayed.
  • Scenes where Diana and Khan are pursued by the media in an intrusive manner.
  • Reference to the effects of landmines on children and families in war torn countries.  Children with limbs missing are seen- a 3/4 year old child with a limb missing, a baby with a limb missing, a small boy with a limb missing who kisses and cuddles Diana.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Scenes where Khan is frustrated and angry and some swearing is heard.
  • Diana has an acupuncture session and she is seen with acupuncture needles in her back

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Children in this age group may also be upset by the above mentioned scenes

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the sight of children with limbs missing as a result of landmines and by the death of Diana.

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

There are no scenes in this movie that are likely to scare or disturb children of this age group

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Puma
  • John Broadwood and Sons piano
  • Caltrose
  • Volvo
  • Chanel
  • Audi
  • Mercedes
  • Toyota
  • Burger King
  • Lacoste

Sexual references

There are many sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Flirting between Khan and Diana, where Diana asks Khan to contact her and come for dinner
  • Reference to Prince Charles having an affair with Camilla

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • There are a number of sex scenes between Khan and Diana throughout the movie. They are seen partially nude, covered somewhat by sheets.  Kissing and sexual movements are seen.
  • Khan is seen in various states of partial nudity – in one scene his bare torso and in another his buttocks are seen.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • Khan smokes throughout many scenes in the movie
  • Diana and Khan are often seen drinking wine, at events and in private. They share two bottles of wine during one date and are seen to be tipsy

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • fucking
  • bastards
  • bollocks

In a nutshell

Diana tells the story of Princess Diana’s final two years of life when she meets and falls in love with a neurosurgeon. The film was made for an adult audience, with themes, scenes and language that make it unsuitable for under 14s. It also lacks interest for younger children.

The main messages from this movie are about love and its challenges.

  • Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with older children include:
  • Being true to yourself
  • Privacy and its importance

 Issues that parents may wish to discuss with older children include

  • The position of someone like Diana who marries into royalty
  • Landmines and their impact on children and families