Spencer film review: Kristen Stewart shines in tough Diana biopic
Princess Diana hasn’t always been the easiest subject to cover. Prior to the disastrous 2013 drama Diana, the 1997 accident that took her life was seen as too fresh in the public’s memory to make a biopic viable.
Now, nearly 25 years on, enough time has passed for screenwriters to delve into her fascinating story. The Crown recently portrayed the future princess in her younger years, and new film Spencer finds her at breaking point.
It’s Christmas 1991, and the Royal Family assembles for festivities at Sandringham. Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) shows up amid a storm of media speculation about her marriage to Charles (Jack Farthing), with rumours of affairs swirling. The marriage is clearly crumbling, partly due to Diana fighting the weight of expectation from her in-laws, but she prepares to go through the motions for three days.
The first thing to clear up is that this is largely a work of fiction, and to his credit screenwriter Stephen Knight opens the film with the subtitle “A Fable From A True Tragedy”. While it stretches the term biopic to its very limit, this little touch sets the tone for a jagged fairy tale, an occasionally horrifying peek at what happens when the prince and princess live unhappily ever after.
Director Pablo Larrain covered a similar figure in 2015’s Jackie, although he doesn’t recycle an old formula. Sandringham turns into a labyrinth for Diana, haunted by ghosts of the past and desperately seeking an ally in a castle filled with foes. She finds some in royal dresser Maggie (the always brilliant Sally Hawkins) and chef Darren (Sean Harris), but their solace is overshadowed by the omnipresence of The Family, aided by new chief of staff Alistair (Timothy Spall).
While the suffocating nature of being a Royal has been covered before in The Crown, Larrain’s often surreal canvas allows them to be crueller. A moment where Diana is asked to weigh herself before the weekend’s indulgences is stomach churning, given what we know about the Princess’ struggles with bulimia. An ill-judged family tradition or a pointed jibe? Larrain allows us to fill in the gaps, assuming some knowledge of what has come before and was to follow.
Stewart was not the first choice in many people’s minds to play The People’s Princess, but she doesn’t shy away from the task. A versatile actor who has showcased her range in numerous independent hits since she left the Twilight series, her Diana shows grace but also moments of ugliness. As her mental state decays, she understandably fights against the tide in outbursts that aren’t pretty, but feel real. Scenes with her children also emphasise how much there is at stake, as she seeks to protect them from the system that swallowed their father.
Certain artistic flourishes don’t quite hit the target. Farthing’s Charles isn’t as layered as The Crown’s Josh O’Connor, and a key scene involving pearls is outlandish even for this “fable”. Nonetheless, Spencer is an artistic meditation on the mental prison Diana found herself in, as well as a reminder that she briefly managed to break free.