Review of Spencer (2021) by Jluis_001 — 06 Nov 2021

Diana Spencer is a tragic figure. Basically everything that happened to her in her adult life was tragic. From the miserable life she had with the English royal family, to the overwhelming media harassment she received after her divorce, which culminated in her death trying to escape the paparazzi. And now, after so long since her death. Her tragic death. Her figure and her presence continue to be exploited.

In this case, well actually in all the current cases that represent these people, I find it incredibly surprising.

I say this because Diana Spencer had to be a perfect princess for the royal family. And nowadays, Diana Spencer has to be the perfect figure for all the people who have mythologized her. Pablo Larraín plays in that arena with his newest film. Basically evoking everything he did in Jackie, but for some reason it's always been said that you can't use the same trick with an audience that already expects or knows it, and Spencer is basically the romanticized version of a series of events that the screenwriter decides to imagine in his own way, giving all the spotlight to his protagonist, but leaving aside any substantial elements at its core.

And yes, Kristen Stewart even with her bad accent gives what is perhaps the best performance of her career, but once you notice all the nuances that she was able to impregnate into her performance, there's no more, because the story doesn't give her something else to do.

Everything is speculative. And the film defends that with its " A fable from a true tragedy".

It would be so much more interesting if this had not already been so thoroughly explored.

Spencer is a well-made film, I can't deny that, but the setting and the style can't make up for the lack of a better narrative, and more than anything, a different dynamic.

Larraín plays the same notes through the whole thing, and never wanders outside the box, so he delivers a correct but inconsequential film.

It will certainly give Stewart the Oscar because we know how the business works, but beyond that, I'm not taking anything with me from this fable.

Spencer doesn't humanize Princess Diana, it does something much worse. It idealizes her.