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"Director: Olivier Dahan; Screenwriter: Arash Amel; Starring: Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, Paz Vega, Milo Ventimiglia, Parker Posey, Derek Jacobi, Frank Langella; Running time: 103 mins; Certificate: PG  There are countless missed opportunities in Grace of Monaco, a sponsorship deal with Ferrero Rocher being chief among them. Like the choccies doled out by that cheapnik ambassador, this portrait of Grace Kelly &amp;#039;the royal years&amp;#039; aspires to refinement and class when, in reality, it&amp;#039;s just an afternoon sugar buzz for bored housewives. No wonder the Cannes glitterati turned up their noses, but you don&amp;#039;t have to be a connoisseur to know this is a pile of Nutella. What was Nicole Kidman thinking? For one thing she is two decades too old to be playing Grace Kelly from the late &amp;#039;50s to early &amp;#039;60s (the star was only 26 when she went from Hollywood&amp;#039;s  High Society to the House of Grimaldi). Kidman does have an icy coolness that is vaguely reminiscent of Kelly, but this film is a crying shame for the same actress who won an Oscar for her nuanced performance in The Hours.   Still, there&amp;#039;s only so much anyone could do with a script that trades in blunt expression. Grace is supposed to be the picture of naivet\u00C3\u00A9 when she takes up residence at the palace with Prince Rainier III (Tim Roth doing a Napoleon complex) and speaks out of turn at a formal reception, threatening to undo already tense relations with France. Alas, no amount of praline truffles can save Monaco from an impending blockade and possible invasion, although Grace whips up some good PR by offering border guards a basket of muffins. Clearly, director Olivier Dahan overeggs Grace&amp;#039;s part in diffusing the crisis then undermines her when she breathlessly invites Rainier to run away with her, because who needs &amp;quot;a silly old throne&amp;quot;. Discussions to avert war ensue in dimly lit rooms where Robert Lindsay lounges around lizard-style as shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis (a role he played well on stage), puffing smoke between statements of the obvious. Inevitably, relations between Rainier and Grace become difficult, too, as they occasionally cross paths between the east wing and the west wing. Meanwhile, Alfred Hitchcock (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) is trying to tempt Grace back to Hollywood with his script for Marnie.  There are countless missed opportunities in Grace of Monaco, a sponsorship deal with Ferrero Rocher being chief among them.  Dahan is also guilty of being seduced by Hitch. He uses an excess of unnerving close-ups in the director&amp;#039;s trademark style to force emotion out of scenes and references particular films to provide the dramatic cues for his own sketchy narrative. There are overtones of Rebecca as Grace contends with a scheming lady-in-waiting (a nostril-flaring Parker Posey) and a hint of To Catch a Thief when people in berets scrabble about in the shadows trying to tail her. The most laughable conceit is an attempt to frame the culminating ball like a thriller, complete with Bernard Herrmannesque score. Apart from Paz Vega&amp;#039;s enigmatic turn as opera singer Maria Callas (Onassis&amp;#039;s yacht buddy) and Frank Langella (playing a clergyman and close advisor), the actors are smothered by heavy-handed direction and a frothy-light script. The chocolates should be on hand for Kidman&amp;#039;s final speech, wishing for peace - it&amp;#039;s right up there with the crowning of Miss World for high emotion. Careful you don&amp;#039;t choke on the nuts.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a573404/grace-of-monaco-review-what-was-nicole-kidman-thinking/>