Spencer (2021)

Chile, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Drama, History

FilmNation Entertainment, Komplizen Film, Shoebox Films, Fabula, Fabula

Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Jack Nielen, Freddie Spry, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris

Pablo Larraín

Steven Knight

Taglines: Every fairy tale ends.

princess, marriage crisis, royal family, biography, based on true story, psychological abuse, norfolk, christmas, 1990s, british royal family, british monarchy, body horror, princess diana

During her Christmas holidays with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, Diana decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles.

Reviews:

Author: Geronimo1967
Kristin Stewart could certainly not be accused of being half-hearted here. She immerses herself completely in this depiction of a rather unstable woman dealing with the pressures of her fame and her family. The extent of any authenticity as to the feelings and experiences by the real life Princess is anyone's guess, so though I did appreciate her effort, I felt the rest of the film took a rather uncompromising view on other people who are either dead, or unable to retaliate against this somewhat one-sided portrayal of a scenario that all concerned have subsequently admitted was way more nuanced and complex than presented in this overly-simplistic depiction. It doesn't help that the opening scenes purport to be Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, but look nothing remotely like that distinctive building - and from there on in, the story speculates wildly on real life events in a fashion that I just found irritating, implausible - hysterical, even. Her ability to randomly roam the countryside (with or without her children) without any security beggars belief somewhat, and the somewhat curious references to "currency" alluding to the double edged swords of a privileged no pain no gain existence is all just too contrived. This portrayal of an emotionally struggling lady is to be commended, but it has little to do with reality and as a man who lived in the UK throughout the rise and fall of this flawed individual, much of this comes across as little more than a clumsy attempt to capitalise on a tragic story with scant regard to anyone else who actually had to endure at that time - or, indeed, to fact.