Spencer opens the way we all know Diana to have felt at some point during her time as the Princess of Wales: She’s lost and speeding in a direction she’s familiar with while simultaneously being unprepared for where she’ll end up. That is, Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) is speeding down a road, driving herself to Sandringham to spend the impending Christmas holiday with the royal family. She’s late and she’s lost. Considering how much the royal family stands for and revels in tradition, this is a problem.
If it struck you as odd that the Princess of Wales was driving herself, that’s because it is. It turns out Diana has ditched her security detail and chauffeur in favor of driving herself to Sandringham to spend three days with her in-laws, steeped in the kind of pomp and circumstance most of us will never be able to fully comprehend. Diana arrives unsteady and on edge only to end up on the brink of unraveling completely.
Pablo Larraín gives us a film he describes as a “fable based on a true tragedy.” Through Spencer he tells the story of three factionalized days in the life of the most photographed woman in the world at the height of popularity, personal turmoil and budding tragedy. Diana wants out of the suffocating life of a royal. She thinks she’s too middle-class for the job and despite everything, she’s still crushed that her husband can’t be bothered to love her. Once again, Larraín did not pull any punches with the depiction of his main character. He presents Diana in much the same way he depicted Jacquelin Kennedy in Jackie, human with plenty of flaws. Diana’s flaws and struggles aren’t glossed over, they’re magnified as if under the kind of microscope she’s always trying to outrun.
The visual component of Spencer is opulent, gorgeous to look at and soft around the edges like a dream or maybe a dreamy nightmare. The cinematography is grand, elegant and sweeping. The costuming is outstanding in the details. The storytelling, however, comes across as heavy handed. Even if you’re willing to accept Spencer as a horror story the storytelling itself could have backed up and given the main character room to breathe and develop. With that said, the visuals that draw parallels to The Shining in the opening had me giddy with excitement from the start.
I’ve been waiting a long time to give this movie my undivided attention. As a fan of Kristen Stewart, I wanted to see what she would do with this part. Could Stewart nail Diana’s accent, mannerisms, gait, that wounded but headstrong air about her? The answer is a resounding yes. Stewart’s accent is impressive. Her mannerisms as Diana are stiff and rigid, balanced with a casual warmth when she’s with her sons in the film. Her walk is spot on but the energy she projects allows for anyone watching to completely let go and dive into the story Larraín is presenting in Spencer.
Jack Neilen as Prince William and Freddy Spry as Prince Harry each deliver impactful performances that help humanize our princess amidst all the opulence and chaos. Sally Hawkins is quiet and powerful as Diana’s dresser and friend. Hawkins’ character Maggie lends a depth to this story that I wish would have been further explored since this aspect helped to anchor the madness unfolding all around Diana. Larraín utilizes the rest of the royal family as a backdrop for Diana’s breakdowns and epiphanies, he mutes them so as to put the trauma that comes with life in their world center stage. Ultimately, Spencer provides an unsettling and decidedly gorgeous look into what life might have been like for the people’s princess when she finally decided she’d had enough.
