Movie Review: Kristen Stewart Oscar Worthy in Brilliant, Beautiful Princess Diana Biopic Spencer

If I may start out with an unexpected comparison, the film that the new Princess Diana biopic, Spencer, reminded me the most of was another movie released in 2021. Earlier this year, writer-director Emma Seligman’s debut feature Shiva Baby was released to some acclaim. That was a movie about a young Jewish woman caught up in a storm of emotional conflicts as she’s forced to attend a family gathering, in this case, a funeral wake, or in the Jewish tradition, Shiva.

Throughout the story our main character, Danielle, played by Rachel Sennott, is under assault by the expectations thrust upon her by the various forces and personalities in her oppressive Jewish extended family. As she withstands these trials she’s forced to confront an ex-lover with a deeply complicated back story and the almost constant watchful eye of her mother. Then there is the film score, a mix of strings plucked in odd spots to create an almost horror film feel to what is otherwise a comic premise. It’s rather brilliant and one of my favorite movies of the year.

Spencer was in no way influenced by Shiva Baby, the films were in production roughly at the same time, but the echoes of artistry and their examination of personality under fire from all sides resonate well as themes, and especially their use of score to accentuate a deep, spirit level, unease are very similar. In Spencer it is the legendary Academy Award nominated Jonny Greenwood plucking the strings of a horror movie score in this non-traditional horror movie.

Spencer tells the story of Christmas 1991 in the life of Lady Di, the legendary Princess Diana, played by Kristen Stewart. In this one, three or four day period, we get a strong picture of the full life of the tragic People’s Princess whose life would end tragically 6 years later. Coincidentally, as Diana Spencer’s life ended in a car, the first time we see Princess Diana is driving a car, a 1991 Porsche Carrera, while lost in the countryside searching for the castle at Sandringham.

It’s strange that she would be lost here as Sandringham is the next plot of land over from where Diana grew up, her family home and proximity to the royal family a particularly large part of how she ended up becoming a member of the Royal family. Then again, it's strange that Diana would be driving herself anywhere at this period of her life. Perhaps driving herself and getting lost is a function of her not wanting to be there in the first place, the more time she spends lost, the less time she has to be around the royal family.

In a lovely and insightful scene, the royal family’s chef, Darren McGrady, played by Sean Harris, finds Diana on the side of the road while lost and as she explains her confusion, she trails off as she notices a scarecrow in a distant field. Diana recognizes the bright red jacket that the scarecrow is wearing, it belonged to her father. Her family had made this scarecrow. Rather than getting on her way, now that she knows where she is, Diana decides to approach the scarecrow and retrieve the red coat.

I adore this scene because Kristen Stewart captures something beautiful in Diana, her childlike longing for a time when life was less messy and complicated. It’s something that will come out in several other scenes in Spencer but, for me, it is most poignantly on display here. It’s also an early indication of the command that Kristen Stewart has over this performance. If you’re worried about her accent or elements of Stewart’s personality emerging in Diana, those fears should be quelled here, the command may not be in absolute mimicry but rather in capturing the emotional truth of the Diana of myth and legend.

Stewart’s performance is utterly intoxicating, she provides a dreamlike evocation of Princess Diana, one that is perfectly in line with the dreamlike visuals of director Pablo Larrain. Larrain’s style is lively, full of color and perfectly in keeping with the alien qualities of the pomp and circumstance of royal life. If, like me, you find the traditions and the requirements of royal life to be utterly bizarre, Spencer is the movie for you. Larrain’s style captures the ludicrous excess of royalty and their bizarre dedication to formality.

The term gilded cage has rarely been more appropriate. Both Stewart’s full bodied performance and Larrain’s unyielding style capture the notion of a gilded cage perfectly. Diana’s gilded cage is a prison of excess with royal formality taking the place of prison bars and guards. Diana's innocence only serves to further the injustices visited upon Diana just for having married the wrong man out of a sense of hope and duty.

There are several more wonderful scenes in Spencer. One occurs as everyone gossips about Diana and wonders if she’s cracking up emotionally, Larrain gives her a moment to defy everyone, a dream sequence where she dances her way through the halls of Sandringham, a lush and beautifully captured moment, one that evokes another great Larrain dance scene in his wildly different but equally artful movie, Ema.

Another great scene involves the brilliant Sally Hawkins as Diana’s only ally and friend in this gilded cage, her royal Dresser, Maggie. It’s a warm and intimate scene of touching vulnerability and honesty. Maggie tells Diana that she’s not crazy, she doesn’t need more doctors, she needs love, she needs someone to just care about her and not about the image of her. Hawkins is an absolute treasure in all her roles but she’s something truly special here in a relatively small role. It’s Academy Award level work.

As we wrap up, I return to the Shiva Baby comparison. What both movies do remarkably well is evoke anxiety via score. The harsh strings and shrill piano strikes are the soundtrack to anxiety, they chill the spine and tighten every muscle. The score puts you immediately in the place of the protagonist who seems to have the score running through their mind, their pained body language and barely concealed angst barely containing the horror of this mental soundtrack.

Spencer is perhaps the more artful of the two movies but it is remarkable that two movies about two very different women can relate to each other so deeply. It reminds me of why so many came to admire Princess Diana, whether it was true or not, she appeared so vulnerable and bullied by the life she found herself in. The cloistered, controlled and forcible life of a royal is something that a lot more people than you think can relate to. Danielle in Shiva Baby is a young Jewish woman who feels that she can’t live the life she chooses because of the expectations heaped upon her by her family, a conflict that Diana undoubtedly could relate to.

Danielle’s conflicting desires to be who she wants to be and live up to the pressure of her family may not have the stature of Diana’s battle with the royal family but they are still both women who are trying to live the life they choose while balancing the expectations and judgments of the people that are supposed to be their support system. Their struggles are each relatable and are well captured by a pair of directors who capture their story with deep empathy and care. Danielle and Diana are very different people but their struggles remind us of the ways we can all relate to each other, understand each other and care about each other.

Spencer arrived in theaters on Friday, November 5th, 2021.