Just a month after its disastrous opening at the Cannes Film Festival, Grace of Monaco has already entered the annals as one of the worst films in recent memory. Surely a film has never been crucified so roundly by the world's media – it has been called "fantastically silly" by the Telegraph, while the Guardian said it has an "ionospherically high" cringe factor. These are the kind reviews. And yet, I was eager to see the film and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Accompanied by my mother, who is an even less indulgent film critic than myself, we exited the cinema genuinely moved, not by the portrait of an unhappy princess, but by that of a trapped and lonely woman. 

W. Somerset Maugham famously described the French Riviera as a "sunny place for shady people", and it is this image of Monaco which proves to be the film's biggest stumbling block. A survey of numerous reviews of this film shows an indignant preoccupation among critics with being asked to feel sympathy for a beautiful and privileged princess; and perhaps, with today's economic instability, such a project was bound to face criticism. Nevertheless, my mother and I accepted the invitation to look beyond Grace's position as a princess and found some value as a result.

There are certainly problems with this film, not least of which is screenwriter Arash Amel's decision to set the action during the 1962 diplomatic standoff between Monaco and France. The intention was clearly to portray Princess Grace as some kind of diplomatic heroine who saves Monaco's sovereignty and wins the hearts of its people; but a simpler story focusing on Grace's family life would have been more emotionally resonant. It is difficult to find the heart of this film – is Grace the legendary princess locked in the tower, a stifled artiste, a lonely wife, or an isolated outsider? The film sacrificed pathos in place of maintaining Grace's glamorous mystique, a move made unnecessary by the insistence that the film is a fictionalised portrayal rather than a faithful biopic.

However, despite these glaring faults and a shaky first half hour which includes an unnecessarily melodramatic high-speed drive along the winding Monaco coastline (a nod, perhaps, to Grace's death in 1982), Nicole Kidman's portrayal of Princess Grace somewhat redeems this film. Critics have argued that Kidman, being thirteen years older than Grace in 1962, was too old to play the role, and director Olivier Dahan's penchant for claustrophobic close-ups of Kidman's red-rimmed eyes and thin lips is certainly unforgiving. However, the fact remains that Kidman bears an uncanny resemblance to Grace Kelly and has that curious mixture of gravitas and insecurity key to empathetically portraying such a character. Dahan continuously captures Kidman's reflection in mirrors, a subtle device suggesting how the woman behind the image remains trapped by expectations. Kidman brings an endearing fragility and naïveté to the role, a screen presence unmatched by any of her co-stars except her confidante, Father Francis Tucker, played convincingly by Frank Langella. Tim Roth looks suitably contemplative and chic as Prince Rainier, but the script gives him very little to do save smoking and leaning aristocratically against door frames.

Style is the only undisputed star of this production with Kidman serving as the perfect clothes-horse for a myriad of outfits modelled on the original Chanel creations worn by Princess Grace. Cartier, too, recreated some of Grace's favourite pieces especially for the film and these are astoundingly beautiful. Aesthetically then, this film is a success, with long, sweeping shots of azure waters and glittering portrayals of the principality's hedonistic lifestyle. The failures of Grace of Monaco must be placed directly at the doors of its screenwriter and director, and the experience of watching it, while enjoyable, bears all the hallmarks of a missed opportunity. However, amid the awkward dialogue and clunky scene changes, lies a film worth seeing and a poignant glimpse of one of the century's most adored and least understood women.