Spencer (2021, R)

Just one nomination for today’s Oscar movie, a Best Leading Actress nod for Kristen Stewart. While The Eyes of Tammy Faye takes the approach of covering a wide swathe of the subject’s life, this one lasers in on a very specific time/event, although it freely admits to telling its own story within the historical context. It’s a little bit The Crown meets Black Swan, which is interesting to say the least.

At the end of 1991, the royal family gathers for their annual Christmas weekend in the country. While everyone around her is well-practiced at the endless posing and rote traditions, Diana, Princess of Wales, chafes under the stifling expectations of her role. Heavy with the knowledge of her husband’s infidelity and battling disordered eating amid sumptuous holiday feasts, Diana struggles to keep her head above water in the fishbowl of the country home.

Honestly, I knew very little of Diana while she was alive, as I was only 10 when she died. I’ve of course learned more about her since then, but I don’t have the same affection as the many who cherished her and were wrecked by her needless death. As such, people with greater attachment to Diana could say more of the accuracy of the performance or how closely the details of the story ring to what we knew of her, and they would likely have stronger opinions for or against the film based on their own feelings about the woman.

For me, I liked it a lot. I thought it was a very interesting character study of a woman desperate to keep some semblance of herself in an environment that’s trying to take everything that she is. Whether it’s having to eat a lavish meal in front of everyone, confiding in servants who then report her admissions to the regimental steward in charge of the house, or wearing the pearls Charles gave her for Christmas when she knows he gave Camilla an identical pair, Diana is forever on the brink, alternately trying to hold it together and wondering what she’s even holding it together for.

The film bills itself as “a fable based on a true tragedy,” which gives it plenty of license in its presentation. It’s rather gun shy about depicting much of Her Royal Highness and her immediate family—other than one scene with the queen and a couple with Charles, most of Diana’s interactions are either with the servants or her children—but it vividly imagines how all this pomp, circumstance, and Keep Calm and Carry On grinds away at Diana’s mental health. More than once, a character gently chides Diana for being paranoid and then almost instantly reminds her that “everyone hears everything” in this house, and she increasingly thinks she spots the specter of the queen whose displeased husband beheaded her (after accusing her of cheating when, as Diana is quick to remind us, he was the one who cheated.)

I like that it’s austere and morose and a little trippy, and that it’s deeply sad. For all that “poor little rich girl” can be a trope, this is an excellent remember that being a fairytale princess would, in many ways, be a complete nightmare, and I’ll admit to thinking a lot about Meghan as I watched the film. In light of its heaviness, though, I greatly appreciate Diana’s moments of relief, largely the minutes she steals to spend time with her sons. While these scenes aren’t immune to the sadness that pervades the film—it’s wrenching to see young William beg Diana to put on a brave face and play the role she’s been assigned—they also display a lot of warmth, and Diana’s most genuine smiles come when she’s playing with the boys.

Again, I’m not well-versed enough in the royals to tell you how much Kristen Stewart seems like Diana here. Just based on the nature of the story, I’m assuming the movie is showing sides of Diana that she wouldn’t have been apt to display in public, so the point might be somewhat moot anyway. At any rate, I like the tug and pull between Diana’s smooth poshness and her flagging ability to keep from “cracking up.” Stewart slips fluidly from the real-life cringeworthy encounters into the disorienting flashes of fantasy, and she definitely succeeds in making me feel for Diana in a “trapped in her gilded cage” kind of way. The film also features Sally Hawkins and Timothy Spall (who I’ll probably always remember best as Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter,) and I want to give a shoutout to Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry, who are both endearing and delightful as Will and Harry.

Warnings

Language, brief sexual references, disturbing imagery, and strong thematic elements (including eating disorders and self-harm.)