‘Spencer’ unleashes a royally wonderful Kristen Stewart
With a stellar performance from Kristen Stewart, director Pablo Larraín’s supremely brilliant “Spencer” is an enlightening glimpse into the mind of Princess Diana that doubles as an effective horror film. Rooted in a holiday setting, it also splendidly captures moments of absolute joy and exuberance even amid a sad larger narrative.
Labeled “a fable from true tragedy,” the drama (in theaters Friday) is a psychological head trip and fictional imagining of Diana’s (Stewart) time with the British royal family over three days around Christmas 1991, spent at the queen’s annual holiday destination, Sandringham House.
Diana has already had it with cold Prince Charles (a punchable Jack Farthing) and a separation is around the corner, but the princess is haunted by her past and present as the toil of being part of the monarchy weighs on her.
As the film opens, she’s already going her own way: Diana zooms along alone in her sports car apart from the rest of the family – including sons Harry (Freddie Spry) and William (Jack Nielen) – and is late, having to stop at a fish-andchips shop for directions. Once she reaches the estate, she’s welcomed by having to get on a scale, a family tradition in which holiday fun is measured in extra pounds – not great for those wrestling with a food disorder like Diana.
From the command wardrobe changes to the queen (Stella Gonet) giving her stares at dinner to Charles mansplaining how there has to be two of her (“the real you and the one they take pictures of ”), it all gets a little maddening for Diana. She has a staunch ally in royal dresser Maggie (a fabulous Sally Hawkins), though the helper is sent away by the powers that be, and Diana is increasingly drawn to a neighboring farm where she spent time in her childhood.
“Spencer” is a sister film to Larraín’s fabulous “Jackie” (with Natalie Portman as a grieving Jackie Kennedy) in creating a surreal and fantastical environment around a real person. Diana sees visions of not only memories of herself but also Anne Boleyn as her claustrophobia takes hold. She’s surrounded by shifting Kubrickian horrors – this Sandringham
is about as creepy a joint as the Overlook in “The Shining.” One scene has her beautiful gown splayed across the floor as she rests her head on a toilet, and there are outstanding moments (like an unnerving bit with a bowl of soup) involving the pearls Charles gifted her – the same he also gave rumored mistress Camilla Parker Bowles.
In a career-best turn (and sporting a serviceable English accent), Stewart wonderfully navigates Diana’s spiral and crafts a deeply complex character it’s impossible not to love. There’s paranoia, terror, anger and sadness in her rousing portrayal that arrives balanced by the love, happiness and protective nature she exudes when she’s around her boys. “I want to be your mum,” Diana tells them. “That’s my job.”
Larraín puts Diana through hell, but the best thing he does in “Spencer” is lift her back up. It’s a ghost story but also an underdog’s story, a mother’s story and, thanks to an Oscar-ready Stewart at the top of her game, one of the best movies you’ll see this year.