Review of Spencer (2021) by Tvjerry — 17 Nov 2021

Anyone expecting something akin to The Crown will be greatly disappointed. This “imagined” story is set at Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham Estate over the Christmas weekend, 1991. Essentially, we’re given an extreme close-up at the mental stage of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) as she struggles with the royal family’s demands and her own discontent.

The expected characters are there, as are some of the staff for interactions, but the large portion is dominated by Diana's dilemnas. The script is somewhat repetitive, the pace drags at times and the music is dominated by horribly distracting free-form jazz (maybe to mirror her inner discord).

Stewart’s nuanced creation deftly walks the line between despondent, sweet and angry. Whether what happens in the film is remotely real, Stewart’s performance and the fabulous fashions that she wears are the film’s greatest assets.