Right from the start, this documentary doesn’t waste time telling us what it is about. Yes, it's about the love story of Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise and shaman Durek Verrett and the intense media scrutiny they faced. Princess Märtha states that she always felt that she was different from the royal family. She found it suffocating and wanted a life on her own terms. Her psychic abilities are what made her different, which also garnered frequent media attention. That’s when a friend suggested that she should contact Durek Verret, who is a self-professed shaman. Honest enough to admit to himself that Durek would end up with a man, he claims that he fell in love with the soul of Märtha. According to him, they were past lovers in Egypt in their previous lives. Their souls recognized each other, and rest, as they say, is history. But just like any other love story, theirs too wasn’t free from intense media scrutiny. Being a man of color and dating a member of the royal family, the Norwegian media wasn’t very welcoming to them. And this didn’t stop with the media. Durek claims that even within the royal family, he faced issues as he struggled to fit in. This lifestyle was very new for him. The couple got confidence when they saw Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, speak up about the discrimination she faced in the royal family. Seeing this, even Durek’s father-in-law, aka the king of Norway, asked him if he ever felt the same and issued a press release to address the topic. The documentary subsequently focuses on how the couple adjusted to the media, Märtha’s relinquishment of title, and ultimately their wedding.
All this is fine, but I don’t know why this documentary doesn’t feel like one. It feels more like a celebrity interview given in order to correct Durek Verrett’s overall image. Of course, it doesn’t explore other aspects of his life and the controversies, but Durek Verret comes across as someone who is playing a part in a film. And there will be many times when the documentary will remind you of Harry and Meghan. Somewhere, I feel the ideas have been taken from them. Märtha comes across as normal, who is just giving us a glimpse of her life. However, it is Durek Verret who is over-explaining himself constantly, telling us about his life and how he felt about the whole situation. From the tone of it, the documentary looks like a gossip session that goes on for an hour or more. It doesn’t give the seriousness of it. I felt more like Durek Verrett was playing the victim from the way he spoke. Yes, I am not denying that what he underwent was right, but the way it has been conveyed to us, I can’t take him seriously at all.
Coming to the speed, the documentary is slow. In some aspects, I felt it was getting dragged for no reason. It goes on and on, and sometimes you may even feel like skipping it. I also felt that the makers focused on showing the past life of Princess Martha more than that of Durek Verret. Not sure if this was planned or not, but if this was deliberate, then for sure, this documentary feels more like an image correction for Durek Verret. We are shown Princess Märtha’s childhood, a clip of her ex-husband, and how the media interacted, etc. But very limited information on Durek Verret apart from the fact that he had friends with benefits. So readers, if you wish to watch a gossip session formatted documentary, this is your watch. Don’t watch it for the fact that you will gain some good information. Rather watch it for entertainment purposes solely. Other than that, I found nothing to watch except for seeing how hurt Durek Verrett was.
Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Choudhuri
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times