For some reason, the story of Princess Diana has been gaining notable traction recently. Between The Crown on Netflix, the musical coming to Broadway, and now this new film starring Kristen Stewart, I was hoping that this film wouldn’t be a rehash of the same things we’ve seen before. Luckily, Spencer was a unique and quite unnerving piece that I believe was one of my favorite portrayals of Diana thus far. Even so, it was not without its faults, which I will be sure to elaborate upon later on in this piece.
If you’ve heard anything about Princess Diana, and her controversy among the royal family, you’ll know that she was pretty much an outcast. She didn’t want to conform to the ways of tradition and refused to be controlled. This caused a great amount of turmoil within the family, which is quite apparent during the film. It was filmed in a way that made it almost like a horror film from Diana’s perspective. The extraordinary pressure that she was under, combined with the ever-present press created claustrophobia around her that you could physically feel coming through the screen. An eerie soundtrack that reminded me a bit of Birdman only added to the tension and I really liked the tone of the film overall.
The best part of Spencer, by far, was Kristen Stewart. Previously, I was not a huge fan of the other things she had been a part of, (ie. Twilight, Snow White and the Huntsman) but this movie proved that she could truly act. I read that she practiced Diana’s accents and mannerisms for six months prior to filming and on-screen; they seemed extremely natural. Not only that, but the way she embodied Diana’s poise, stress, and even psychotic breaks made it seem completely natural. I’ve seen many films where the main character is falling apart mentally that make it seem over-dramatized, but this felt raw and real. I hope that Stewart gets recognized for her work because it must’ve been extremely mentally and emotionally draining to film.
While there were several things I liked about the film, there were several major flaws that dragged it down significantly. Firstly, the pacing was slow. There were some excellent scenes, but in between, there was barely anything happening. The whole film takes place over the course of only three days, so there isn’t a lot of wiggle-room when it comes to time, but I would’ve much rather the film be 90 minutes and move faster than an hour fifty with the pacing it had. Additionally, the plot was a little all over the place. It seemed like Diana made really rash decisions without thinking much of her children or herself, and it had a tendency to take away from the film. Sometimes it came across like she was acting sporadically because of the stress, but other times it just seemed weird and out of place.
Overall, I really liked the film. I’m always interested in films to try something new and even though Spencer didn’t quite stick the landing, it still had some great moments that I really enjoyed. If you’re familiar with Princess Diana’s history and are willing to sit through a very-slow-burn, then I definitely recommend Spencer.
Spoiler Alert is an Opinion culture column used to give reviews for movies, television shows, or other related media.
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