Spencer

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"I knew absolutely nothing about this movie beforehand. I heard/read extraordinarily positive reactions that definitely elevated my expectations. And my actual knowledge about Princess Diana and her life was and still is extremely basic. Spencer is one of those rare examples where going into it completely blind didn't work in my favor at all. I found myself trying to look for something to grab on to, and despite some genuinely outstanding technical attributes, Steven Knight's (Locked Down) screenplay doesn't offer me enough to hold my attention.

Spencer is undoubtedly a fictional character piece that only stands on its feet due to one of the year's most mesmerizing lead performances. Kristen Stewart (Underwater), an actress who still gets a lot of unfair hate despite her clear evolution to one of the most underrated actors working today, delivers a career-defining portrayal of Princess Diana that viewers will hardly forget about. I can't recall the last time I witnessed an actor completely disappearing into their role. A true masterclass worthy of every single award. The rest of the cast is also superb.

Technically, I also have little to complain about. Pablo Larraín's (Jackie) distinct direction adequately fits the frustrating, claustrophobic story, and I love how Claire Mathon's (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) moves between the intimate close-ups and gorgeous wide shots. As expected, costume and production design look fabulous, but Jonny Greenwood's (You Were Never Really Here) score didn't work for me. The mix of jazz with high-tension sequences becomes too uncanny, distracting the viewers from the narrative, which leads me to my main issue.

For someone with my knowledge and expectations, Spencer becomes one of those "nothing happens" films that usually surprises viewers with its unique storytelling approach. I'm all-in for this type of work, but outside of Stewart's display, I struggled to feel captivated by whatever was going on. A supposedly consistently interesting character study transformed into an overlong, repetitive one-woman show, where I couldn't figure out what it was aiming for. I understand the purpose of making the audience feel how Diana felt during her marriage and living within British Royalty, but Larraín's execution somehow fails to leave me emotionally satisfied.

A second viewing will probably improve and strengthen my opinion about the movie. For now, I feel very mixed about Spencer, but I'll leave this as a positive review trusting that I'll gradually enjoy it more after each viewing."

Rating: B-

The film is good. Ignore the 1 star reviewers who hate Kristen based on one film she did over a decade ago. She is a terrific actress, and her repertoire of under the radar films proves it.

She's near perfectly been cast in "Spencer", and the film is just as gripping and successful (if not more) than "Jackie".

This does feel like an interesting spin on the typical royal period piece. Having the royal family as Diana's horror was a unique framing device, but you really feel like you're getting hit over the head with Diana's trauma for 2 hours.

Even as someone who has watched The Crown, you have to bring in a LOT of prior knowledge about this story to understand everything going on. It's heavy on symbolism and not the most subtle, but Stewart's performance is worthy of the hype and is the main thing to watch here.

"Spencer" is a Biography - Drama movie in which we follow lady Diana on her Christmas holidays at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England. She deals with health problems and a lot of pressure and decides to end her marriage to Prince Charles.

I have to admit that I had high expectations from this movie since it is based on a very important person, Lady Diana. Unfortunately, I was not satisfied by the result because there were not many scenes that could explain us a bit more her final choice. This could be done with some flashbacks in order to make it clear and better establish her character. Despite that the interpretation of Kristen Stewart who played as Diana Spencer was very good, she did not save this movie. Another interpretation that has to be mentioned was Timothy Spall's who played as Major Alistar Gregory and he was simply amazing. To sum up, I have to say that "Spencer" had the potential of being an amazing movie about Lady Diana but failed.

I had a mixed reaction to "Spencer," Pablo Larrain's film about three days in the life of Princess Diana as she's trapped in Windsor over the Christmas holiday with a family who doesn't want her and who she hates. On the one hand, I liked Larrain's decision to give the film a horror movie vibe, as if the demons plaguing Diana are literally real. There have been so many versions of this story, on screen and in print, that what's the point of doing yet another if you're not going to do something daring with it?

But the movie is a bit much to take. It's oppressive, which fits the subject matter, so I get that. But it's also very one note, and worst, it doesn't make Diana come alive as a person or character. You have to bring a lot of knowledge of Diana's story to this movie for it to completely make it worthwhile. Otherwise, you're just stuck with a very bizarre woman wandering around a big house in nice clothes for two hours. You can empathize with her, because she's clearly a very troubled woman going through a crisis, but that doesn't mean you necessarily want to spend time with her.

Kristen Stewart was just nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award at the time I'm writing this comment, and her performance is good I guess. I think she gives the performance Larrain wants her to give. But it's a very weird performance, and extremely hard to warm to.

Sally Hawkins has a smallish role as the only member of the household staff who Diana can deal with, and as always, she carries the movie off with her and made me want it to just be about her instead.

Grade: B.