REVIEW: Kristen Stewart’s SPENCER Is An Exhausting Take On Princess Diana
When word was announced that a film based on the life of Princess Diana was in the works, many were skeptical. How does one tell the story of a woman that has not only touched so many lives, but a person who feels so familiar because of all the publicity she faced during and after her time with the British Royal family. Director Pabolo Larrain took a shot and Spencer was born. Larrain’s creation tells the story of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) during her final trip to Sandringham House with the royal family over the Christmas holiday. As the film unfolds, the Princess battles with her emotions, fights with her husband Prince Charles (Jack Farthling), and tries to outwit head of the house Major Alistar Gregory (Timothy Spall). With only a few allies on her side, her maid Maggie (Sally Hawkins) and head chef Darren (Sean Harris), Diana becomes a caged animal waiting for her moment to spring to freedom.
Director Pablo Larrain is no stranger to creating a story based on the worst days of a person’s life (his 2016 film Jackie), and Spencer is no different. In the first few moments of the film, Larrain takes the opportunity to share this film is “a fable from a true tragedy”, which is essentially a more professional way to say this film isn’t based on any real events. Larrain created a film about one of the hardest periods in Diana’s life, and centered it around an event that did not happen. This Diana spends three days as a miserable wreck, showing up to dinners late, refusing help from the servants, and hallucinating about Anne Boleyn.
Never once is the opportunity given to really understand what has led to this moment or why the audience should feel for her in this moment. The closest viewers get to understanding why Diana is in such distress is during an argument between Diana and Prince Charles. It’s the meatiest piece of material in the entire film, but other than that one lone scene, viewers are expected to rely on what they already know, or think they know, about Diana and the royal family. It’s honestly a disservice to Princess Diana, her family, and her legacy, especially as she is someone who meant so much to so many.
Reactions were varied when it was announced that Stewart would be playing the role of Diana and unfortunately her performance won’t do much to dissuade the naysayers. Everything about her performance is tense, from her movements to each step she takes to every sentence that she speaks, tension is at the forefront. There is not one moment in the film where Stewart portrays her any other way and it becomes exhausting to watch after two plus hours. Stewart may have been able to pull this off if the person she was taking on wasn’t one who was known for her joy, even in her moments of strife.
It is difficult to review the other performances in the film as their moments on screen are so brief. Farthing, Spall, Harris, and Hawkins are the only other performances that actually see more than one minute of screen time, with dialogue included. Spall’s Gregory and Farthing’s Prince Charles are meant to be the villains of the film which neither succeeds or fails at. There’s so little focus on them that it’s hard to muster up strong enough emotions. The same can be said for Hawkins’ Maggie and Harris’ Darren, whose characters are the ones Dian leans on throughout the film. Once again, with such short screen time and not enough dialogue, the material leaves nothing for the performers to work with in order to bring these characters to life.
Larrain has taken grandiose liberties with Spencer that will not appeal to general audiences but will likely be a hit with those familiar with the awards circuit. Either way, expect to hear nothing about this film for the next few months, even though it does not live up to the woman they’re portraying.
Grade: C