Spencer

As Princess Diana, Kristen Stewart is on her way to ensnare her first Oscar nod.

Prisoner of protocol: Kristen Stewart

To represent a human life is an impossible task. And too often it is ambition that is the petard on which a filmmaker is hoisted. So dry facts are moulded into what passes as a true narrative, with whole years discarded to make way for moments that made history. The result too often leads to an episodic account in which it is hard to grasp the spirit of the subject. Here, the prolific scenarist Steven Knight (Amazing Grace, Locke, Peaky Blinders) has opted to pinpoint a single three-day period in the life of a public figure, a figure already portrayed numerous times in different media. Much like a free-form interpretative musical composition – an approach echoed by Jonny Greenwood’s distinctive, off-centre score – Spencer offers a vivid picture of Diana, Princess of Wales (née Spencer), entombed in a gilded cage.

It is Christmas at Sandringham and Diana is expected to comply with the minutiae of the protocol demanded of all members of the royal family. But Diana is not only a maverick but is deeply unhappy and mentally deconstructed by her circumstances. The members of her adopted clan are largely shown at arm’s length, like ghosts glimpsed fleetingly at the end of long corridors, while Camilla Parker-Bowles stands on the side-lines like the Angel of Death. Only Diana’s sympathetic dresser, Maggie (Sally Hawkins), and the Queen Mother’s gruff equerry (Timothy Spall) have any substantial screen time, along with Diana’s young sons William and Harry (Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry).

So this is largely a one-woman show, in which Kristen Stewart immerses herself into the essence and deterioration of the troubled princess, throwing up one minute and conversing with the ghost of Anne Boleyn the next. Unlike the other actors cast as the various affiliates of the House of Windsor, Kristen Stewart uncannily captures the look and cadence of Diana – even if her staccato delivery does ultimately become wearisome. Even so, it is a quite remarkable performance, from an actress who seems to improve from one role to the next. Less successful is Timothy Spall, who seems ill-at-ease in the role of the vigilant attendant, his accent slipping between Belgravia and the Scottish Highlands. And pity poor Jack Farthing, who is saddled with the role of Prince Charles, an all-too-familiar character he is unable to bring to life.

Billed as a “fable from a true tragedy,” Spencer excels in the strength of its detail. Thus, it is Spall’s job to weigh each member of the household as they arrive (including the Queen), a tradition instigated by Edward VII over a hundred years ago. Likewise, there is the rigorous agenda in which Diana is assigned a different dress for each meal, every hour choreographed like a military tattoo. And there’s the total lack of privacy, so that Diana’s husband and members of staff can take judgmental pot shots at her. Beyond this, the film succeeds best as an impressionistic mood piece, capturing the utter discomfort and loneliness of a free spirit. As directed by the Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín (who previously tinkered with the biographical format with his less effective Jackie (2016), starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy), Spencer comes across like a psychological horror film in the tradition of Polanski’s Repulsion (1965). If one is willing to submit to the film’s approach – and Stewart’s masterly turn – it is an immersive and heart-breaking experience.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Jack Nielen, Freddie Spry, Elizabeth Berrington, Stella Gonet, Amy Manson, James Harkness. 

Dir Pablo Larraín, Pro Juan de Dios Larraín, Jonas Dornbach, Paul Webster, Pablo Larraín, Janine Jackowski and Maren Ade, Screenplay Steven Knight, Ph Claire Mathon, Pro Des Guy Hendrix Dyas, Ed Sebastián Sepúlveda, Music Jonny Greenwood, Costumes Jacqueline Durran, Dialect coach William Conacher. 

Komplizen Film/Fabula/Shoebox Films/FilmNation Entertainment-STX International.
117 mins. Germany/UK. 2021. Rel: 5 November 2021. Cert. 12A .