Spencer Review
9/10
I try to remain as neutral as possible when I watch any film, even if it’s a subject that does not interest me. There are always going to be certain kinds of stories that I gravitate to less than others. The royals are a subject I find tedious by default. The way they are idolized as deities across the world confounds me. I bear no ill will towards them; their world is another planet viewed through a telescope. I was too young to understand the fascination so many people had with Princess Diana. Even now I have a disconnect with this mass adoration.
Spencer starts with the disclaimer “A fable from a true tragedy.” That sets the tone for the story to follow. This is not a typical biopic. If it were, I would find it far less interesting. Instead, Spencer is a psychological character study of Diana trying to create an identity for herself whilst being trapped in a machine that is precision-engineered to make her a smiling mannequin. The story takes place over a few days at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. A house plagued by generations of royalty and tradition, every molecule of Diana’s life is scrutinized and controlled.
There are times where Spencer feels like a horror film. The lavish aesthetic of the estate would be lush and romantic in other interpretations, but here the ornate surroundings create a sense of claustrophobia and tension more akin to the submarine from Das Boot. That feeling is helped by Johnny Greenwood’s hectic jazz-inspired score. When you see a film like this you expect a lush baroque score, but his music is closer in style to a noir. It mirrors her fractured and anxious state of mind.
Now we get to Kristen Stewart. I was curious how she would play Diana. She has always been good, but I haven’t seen a truly great performance from her before. It doesn’t help that the quality of the films she is in are hit and miss. Her performance here is fantastic. Sometimes the breathy way she would enunciate the dialogue was difficult for me to understand, but it never took me out of the film. The nervous energy she brought to her mannerisms help elevate the performance and made me completely forget she was acting. I wasn’t seeing Stewart playing a character, I was watching Diana. It is easily one of the best performances of the year.
The other members of the royal family are viewed from a distance. We only get to know Diana and her children Harry and William. One of the best scenes in the film is when she and her kids are together on Christmas Eve playing a truth-telling game by candlelight. The conversation they have was so natural and real. Grounding the film with that warmth and connection made the despairing aspects even more impactful. The film does not shy away from her issues. Diana is purposely shown as detached from others in the family. There is a particularly uncomfortable dinner scene where she is surrounded by people, but she may as well not exist. The ever-present Banquo at the feast.
They steal glances at her then turn away, ashamed to have acknowledged her presence. The staff at the house engage with her as little as possible. She tries to make conversation with them and is often greeted with a monosyllabic response. Some seem to have sympathy in their faces when she engages with them, but strict rules prohibit any further discussion. They are trained to fade into the background. She is watched day and night by the stoic omnipresent equerry Major Alistair Gregory, playing by the fantastic Timothy Spall.
A foreboding sign hangs in the kitchen. It reads, “Keep noise to a minimum, they can hear you.” This message of doing your duty without fuss and unnecessary commotion is a depressing reminder of the way these people must fall in line. At one point Diana acknowledges that the pearls she wears are the same kind Prince Charles gave to his then mistress Camilla. The mere touch of them on her body is an eternal noose, a constant reminder of his infidelity. The house cleaners look on in silence as Diana speaks. Everybody in the room is well aware of his lack of commitment.
There is a disturbing way the film makes a simple meal into an anguishing endeavor for Diana. The others in the family are well aware of her bulimia and try to tempt her with mountains of fine dining. The food is extravagant but the mere sight of it turns her stomach. Seeing her struggle to keep any kind of sustenance down was heartbreaking. I could see every torment etched in Stewart’s face when she was presented with these dishes.
Other than her children, the one person in the house she has a real connection with is one of the royal dressers, Maggie, played with wonderful empathy by Sally Hawkins. I don’t know if her character was inspired by anyone in particular, but she is very much needed in the film to get some space away from the constant oppressive nature of the home. I was so acquainted with the distaste many other characters had for Diana that I thought Maggie was an imaginary character at one point. Diana even asks her if she is real during one scene. It would make sense in the context of her fractured state of mind to have the lone voice of kindness be someone in her head, especially considering the nightmares and visions she has about Anne Boleyn throughout the film.
One of the most revealing conversations in the film is between Diana and Prince Charles. She is uncomfortable with Charles taking her sons on an upcoming pheasant shoot. Their interactions are curt throughout, but here they are especially strained. The scene puts a pool table in between them to amplify their distance. It’s a small detail, but it added a lot of nuances to how far away they feel from each other.
Diana gets Charles to admit he hated shooting pheasant when he first tried it. He can barely stand to look at her as he says the words, “You have to be able to make your body do things you hate, for the good of the country, the people, because they don't want us to be people.” Even she seems stunned by what he says. He seems aware of the level of control in his life but is unable to resist it.
Anybody raised to the level of angelic by the public is going to be difficult to portray in a film. This reverence for Diana elevated her to a tragic pariah. Many think they know her through the various interviews they gave, but they never understood her beneath the surface. Perhaps nobody did, including herself. People loved the idea of Princess Diana. This celestial being who never fit in with the crowd. The version of her we see in Spencer is a mysterious figure haunting the house. A restless phantom trying to break free from the machine.
The ghosts of the past are soaked into the walls. These spirits create a gothic atmosphere that permeates every frame, especially the moments where she is walking across the grounds at night with the fog coating the landscape. These images conjure comparisons to Jane Eyre. I did find the pacing slacked a tad around the halfway point. The rhythm of the film is designed to have some degree of repetition. Spencer’s enigmatic approach to Princess Diana may ward off those expecting a traditional biopic. If you are open to a less conventional film that explores the psyche of a tragic lost soul, you will find the film an enriching viewing experience like I did.
