Spencer

When I first heard that Kristen Stewart was cast as Princess Diana, I was sceptical I must admit.. The American does a great job though in picturing one of the most loved British people of all time.

I dont want to spoil anything, I just say that sure...we all knew the gossip, the conspiracies, the theories about Diana and her death, but still, almost 25 years later, this movie still brings aspects to the story, that are fresh, new and provocative. It was a bit more psychedelic than expected and I enjoyed that movie much more than I thought I would and it surely will not be liked by the royals, especially Prince Charles, he wont be amused with his depiction!

It's December 1991. The British royal family is gathering to spend Christmas at a royal estate. The abandoned Spencer estate is nearby. Diana (Kristen Stewart) is driving herself and arrives late. She finds herself more and more isolated. Major Alistar Gregory (Timothy Spall) leads the staff to impose order upon her.

There seems to be a lot of praise for Kristen Stewart's work in this. I can certainly see what she's doing and she's doing a lot of it. Sometimes, people say that an actor disappears into the role. In this one, I never lose sight that this is Kristen Stewart. She is doing her standard jittery demure acting. It always looks like her and her movements. A lot of this rides on her performance and I like it less than most. Timothy Spall is performing through his deliberate gritting teeth. Again, I get the work but I would like less singular mannerisms. As for the story, it hits the broad elements of the situation. I do like the mental health aspect although there is no way to know the truth. This is sensationalized. It would help if the performances are more toned down and normalized especially Kristen. She needs to do less of her jittery demure.

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free thoughts, please follow my blog to read my full review :)

"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-

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.