A really strange film this one but one that interested me enough to tape it and (albeit a few months later) watch it. The line that the film is pushing is that Camilla is misunderstood, that she is actually someone who will save the royal family by rejuvenating the sense of dignity and restraint. You see, Camilla is actually a wonderful woman who supported Charles as he suffered the media savvy and manipulative Princess Diana. Really it was not her fault that Diana died and, had that woman not been in a car crash, the public wouldn't have anything but love for Camilla.
Or at least that is what the film is suggesting but I'm not so sure. I watched this film with no real strong feeling either way. I do support the idea of the monarchy but I don't revile Camilla, nor was I one of those weeping like an old woman as Diana's coffin moved along the silent streets of London. So really I'm not too fussed about the whole Camilla affair (maybe a bad choice of words) and was looking for this documentary to perhaps be a calm film that takes the emotion out of the Diana/Camilla thing and looks at it in a fair and balanced way. Sadly it was no such thing.
In the same way as we have one extreme collection of nutters throwing bread rolls and bile at Camilla and making Diana this saintly character, this film seems to be pushing from the other extreme as it paints Camilla in a great light and defends her at every turn. Now this is all well and good but if you are making any case you really need to have a strong foundation for saying it particularly when your case is generally going to be unpopular. However this film makes some of its arguments by simply having the narrator say things blatantly (as well as throwing in lots of words that subtly paint Camilla in a good light while also swiping at others). It is a lazy film in this regard and I found it quite insulting to have this marketing device rammed down my throat. The "friends" who speak out "for the first time" have little of value to say and, with nobody really speaking from very close to Camilla, most of it comes across like hearsay and assumptions, which much of it is I suppose.
Overall then, a pointless documentary that has as much intellectual value as those idiots throwing stuff at Camilla and calling her a Rottweiler and a slag; certainly it has as much balanced and objectivity as they do. I have no real strong emotion towards the woman, but if you are building a defence you should do it in a strong way this just feels like it is an article in Hello magazine that has been written by the Prince Charles' press secretary. Simplistic and pointless PR assault that was never going to win over the haters but is so weak that it is unlikely to win her many favours with the silent majority who could care less.
Or at least that is what the film is suggesting but I'm not so sure. I watched this film with no real strong feeling either way. I do support the idea of the monarchy but I don't revile Camilla, nor was I one of those weeping like an old woman as Diana's coffin moved along the silent streets of London. So really I'm not too fussed about the whole Camilla affair (maybe a bad choice of words) and was looking for this documentary to perhaps be a calm film that takes the emotion out of the Diana/Camilla thing and looks at it in a fair and balanced way. Sadly it was no such thing.
In the same way as we have one extreme collection of nutters throwing bread rolls and bile at Camilla and making Diana this saintly character, this film seems to be pushing from the other extreme as it paints Camilla in a great light and defends her at every turn. Now this is all well and good but if you are making any case you really need to have a strong foundation for saying it particularly when your case is generally going to be unpopular. However this film makes some of its arguments by simply having the narrator say things blatantly (as well as throwing in lots of words that subtly paint Camilla in a good light while also swiping at others). It is a lazy film in this regard and I found it quite insulting to have this marketing device rammed down my throat. The "friends" who speak out "for the first time" have little of value to say and, with nobody really speaking from very close to Camilla, most of it comes across like hearsay and assumptions, which much of it is I suppose.
Overall then, a pointless documentary that has as much intellectual value as those idiots throwing stuff at Camilla and calling her a Rottweiler and a slag; certainly it has as much balanced and objectivity as they do. I have no real strong emotion towards the woman, but if you are building a defence you should do it in a strong way this just feels like it is an article in Hello magazine that has been written by the Prince Charles' press secretary. Simplistic and pointless PR assault that was never going to win over the haters but is so weak that it is unlikely to win her many favours with the silent majority who could care less.
