If one is a fan of The Crown, a perfectly fine show, then Spencer may not be for you. Instead of close depictions of realism as in that show and an attention to detail to factual historical narrative, we are given a far more singular view of Dianna’s life. That view being that of Dianna’s herself. We are no longer telling the story from the outside looking in, as that show does, we are given through tangents of horror, flights of fantasy and a brutally unwelcoming accuracy of minutia, perhaps what it really was like for Dianna in the specifically short period we spend with her. In no uncertain terms Spencer shares more in tone and delivery to The Shining than to The Queen. Although from time to time, primarily in its conclusion, Spencer will stray more into touching moments of Dianna at long last taking control, Spencer is at its best however as an absolute horror film chronicling an immensely powerful woman rendered powerless trapped in the machinations of tradition. To put it simply I thought the film was a sensation and have now seen it twice, and plan to see in on the big screen once more before it leaves cinemas.

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Spencer knows exactly what it is and exactly what it is trying to do, and for me it certainly succeeded. It is not choosing to document multiple decades of Dianna’s life, rather instead three days that changed her life forever, and in this distillation we allow the running time to spend so much more glorious time delving deeper into the psychological nature of Dianna’s life. It is not choosing to present a wholly naturalistic presentation based on the facts we know, rather instead a film that is fantastical at times and instead better presents the feelings and emotions of actions rather than simply the actions themselves, and in this we find a more effective operatic and at certain points melodramatic angle that allows for the tale to be told better than any other presentation of the figure we have had before. For me certain real life figures are unknowable, and it’s an arrogance to present your presentation as anything beyond a vague foggy resemblance of what possibly could have occurred. Spencer does no such thing and is beautifully itss own beast. Pablo Lorrain continues what I can only hope is a trilogy of features following the interior lives of women in political positions who we mainly knew for their iconic exterior presentations. The key choice between Jackie and Spencer of course being the dynamic and intriguing difference that Jackie is a film (another terrific one that I love might I add) which follows Miss Kennedy as she spends her life constructing her exterior, whereas Spencer is a film of a simple woman trapped by all definitions attempting to reckon with, destroy, remove and get away from the exterior that everybody else has made around her, for her. Steven Knight’s script balances these heady themes with rich dialogue and intriguing characters, some amalgamations and some anonymously reconstructed versions of real life people, and some the real people we know presented as such. In scene after scene Dianna is seen discussing her life with others, whether they be confidantes in the royal staff, her children, her husband or even visions of historical ghosts – each one of these relationships is of course different from the previous and allows for a textured and powerful collection of altercations culminating in a decision from Dianna that leaves the arc of this film on a very powerful end, even if the real tragedy of what occurs beyond where this film ends (following these three depicted days over Christmas in 1991) haunts the viewer not unlike the many ghosts that haunt Dianna within the body of the film itself.

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Although the film is fictionalised in so many ways, a keen attention to detail leads the film to be sublimely effective in what it is presenting. The production design of Guy Hendrix Dyas for instance, along with of course the costume work of Jaqueline Durran, allows for everything to be rooted to the truth, that this film chooses to play with but never wholly ignore or dismiss. Specific timings, names and figures are altered, but all in all in its presentation Spencer spends an awful lot of time creating a world of realism, only for it then of course to repeatedly deconstruct it. All of this of course underscored by Johnny Greenwood’s jazzy, 80’s synth, harpsichord based bizarre score that combines so many different moods and styles, and yet works absolutely perfectly in every scene. I am of course not surprised that one of our finest composers has done more sublime work, however the oddities of this score in particular against these settings does lead one only to surmise that the composer can frankly do no wrong. Then there is the films biggest talking point it seems surrounding the film, that of Kristen Stewart’s performance – but what’s to talk about? It’s frankly one of the best performances I’ve seen in many years and certainly one of the best of the year. It’s impersonation, but it’s rich. It’s powerful and dynamic, yet unfortunately captured, restrained and vulnerable. It’s a performance that contains multitudes and balances performance with presentation and plays with interior and exterior like a dream. It’s perfection and she makes this very solid film a truly incredible one. But Stewart is of course not the only great success of performance in the film. The three chief performances under Stewart are that off her confidantes; Sean Harris as a soft spoken chef who seemingly struggles the most to tell Dianna the powerful effect she has on people, Sally Hawkins as a deeply emotionally connected dresser to the Princess and Timothy Spall as a major general guardian angel. All three performances play into everything I have already commented on and are just like the film itself, they are touching, they are haunting, they are beautifully composed and they are some of the best of the year.

An astoundingly beautiful 9/10 tale told effortlessly with the cinematography of Claire Mathon, performances, writing and direction of a film for the ages. This deeply effecting psychological drama propels Stewart in one of the best turns of the year through a collection of set pieces, ranging from the darkly terrifying, to the unnervingly beautiful and sentimental, to ultimately the emotionally transcendent. Lorrain directs with a delicate and defined touch a ‘fable from a true tragedy’ with a deftness for tone and quality and elegance that couldn’t suit this woman and this film any better. A few moments of saying out loud exactly what the film is going for, does remove the viewer however and refrains from the full 10, however as you can read my opinion of the film is certainly a deeply positive one. And yes, for you pundits out there. For my money; t’s Stewart’s Oscar to lose at this very moment. And a very deserved win in my eyes if it occurs.

P.S. Another delightfully unnerving entry into my alternative Christmas films calendar, along with Eyes Wide Shut.

-        - Thomas Carruthers