FILM REVIEW: THE FAILURE OF SPENCER AS A BIOPIC

 

    The royal family is a group of strangers I hold very near and dear to my heart. After a summer of binging The Crown with my mom, we became obsessed. Their lives, hopes, and struggles were fascinating for us to uncover and learn about in a very well crafted, clear, concise series.

    I don't think, however, it would take four seasons for anyone to learn about and have a love for Princess Diana. My mom and I both loved her before we started watching The Crown; and I'm sure many people around the globe still have a prominent love for the people's princess. So when the movie Spencer was announced earlier this year, I was intrigued to see what they were going to do with it.

    I will also acknowledge that I came in with a lot of suspicions. I, for one, am not a fan of Kristin Stewart (don't worry we'll get into that). So when she became the sole face of this movie in advertising, I was a little worried there were not going to be any note-able or reliable actors in this movie; I was semi right. I noticed a few familiar faces, but I had never heard of most of the names of the actors in this movie. That doesn't bode well for such a heavily anticipated movie. Secondly, I also know I came in with a bias of loving The Crown. So, I may be swayed more passionately than some. However, I will say I knew coming in it was not going to be exactly like the show. The haunting factor was knowing many details and vivid truths that I was dedicated to when watching The Crown. And I think that led to my reluctance to appreciate some artistic choices taken in this movie.

    I'll come right out and say it: I thought it was horrible. Again, I didn't know what I was expecting, but it certainly was not what the movie ended up being. The film lacks in a lot of places, and I feel as though it can be described as a full puzzle with all its pieces hanging by individual strings in a room with no guiding image as to what the puzzle actually looks like. Somewhere in the movie, all the pieces were there (or at least mentioned), but its approach was so subtle that I could barely find the pieces, let alone put them together into cohesive triggers and thoughts. The snapshot of Diana's life (the two and a half days at Sandringham over Christmas after Charles' affair with Camilla has become public news) does not do justice to the overall picture of who Diana is.

    Let's start with character: a huge problem that is notorious for weighing down the success of a film. I am frustrated with Kristin Stewart's Diana. Do I think she got Diana's essence and movement and rhythm and tendencies down to a T? Absolutely. The problem with Kristin Stewart in all of her roles is that she overdoes it. I felt like I was being spoon-fed "THIS IS WHAT DIANA DID WITH HER HEAD A LOT. SEE? SEE ME MOVE MY HEAD AND LOOK SHY? DID YOU SEE ME LOOK LIKE DIANA THERE?". And while I appreciate the accuracy in where a lot of Kristin's commitment was, it got to the point where not only did it feel fake, but it wasn't helpful to us on the receiving end. She was talking so fast and in such a low tone that I couldn't understand what she was saying for almost half of the movie. And that was just so anti-productive for the movie and totally made me disengage from what was happening.

    Another problem with Diana's character (and I guess this ties into plot as well): she was not written as multi dimensional as I feel like she could have been. Diana was, although extremely troubled, very kind, giving, and charismatic. There are very small moments you can see that more positive side of her come out when she interacts with her children (all be it, Kristin Stewart somehow still looks as mopey as ever, even through the happier moments), but otherwise, her entire character is centered around her suicidal thoughts, her bulimia, and this obsession with being Anne Boleyn (which by the way, while a clever reference, was so campy and overplayed... by the fourth and fifth time I felt like screaming "I GET IT! She resonates and sees her demise through Anne Boleyn! Let's move on please!"). If this film is striving to be a true representation of Diana's inner turmoil (although it only comes off as a failed, wannabe A24 movie), there needed to be way more diversity in events and their emotional impact on Diana. She didn't feel like a human going through immense grief and confusion through the screen; she, frankly, felt like a psychotic victim who did nothing beneficial towards revenge or self discovery (besides maybe wearing the wrong dress to Christmas mass? Or her car ride of relief in the last 90 seconds of the movie? I'm not sure).

    And this is the main problem with this movie: everything is so subtle that I can't tell what's a purposeful, artistic decision and what's just a poor choice and representation. You can see that in every corner of this movie; there is no escaping it, which is probably why so many people were so confused by this movie. With the lack of plot (which we'll talk about in a second), the frugal amount of dialogue, and less than engaging acting performances, there is no structure to guide the viewer. 

    The plot? There is hardly a plot in the traditional sense and structure of a movie. Diana spends Christmas with the Royals; the movie spans over two and a half days. There is very little action as most scenes are focusing on Diana alone dealing with her problems or her relationship with the cooks and dressers in the house. Again, I'm sure this was an intentional choice to make Diana isolated and only react with the "servants" of the palace and hardly with the Royal family, but if I am coming in as a viewer with minimal knowledge on the Royal Family, I am going to be lost.

    This artistic decision (if it was artistic, I'm not sure) is a prime example of where the film could have had a lot more impact if tweaked. Instead of focusing the film with only one state of action and emotion and no growth in character for anyone outside of Diana (which is minimal at best), the film could have used comparison of life when the Royals accepted her versus when the Royals outcasted her, and the audience could have better understood the true loss and isolation she was feeling; because how do you know you've lost something if you've never had (the knowledge of) it to begin with? (ie the audience). And not only would that choice have made the movie more impactful, but it probably would have made the film easy to follow.

    I'm not one to dwell on the negative though, so I'll end with some positive things. The cinematography? Fabulous. The costume design? Stunning. The score? Although it was distracting and sometimes took me out of the action of the scene, it was really well-crafted. And that scene between Charles and Diana in front of the pool table was absolutely gorgeous... We needed interactions of high stakes and writing like that the entire movie, not whatever this "falling asleep to the Anne Boleyn book" "need to sit on the bathroom floor for four minutes of the movie and contemplate my dinner" interpretive stuff was. SHOW ME with your action and resilience, not stewing and surrendering to self victimization for two hours. 

    So, with a plot that dragged on, desperately trying to make an unattainable point through the eyes of a beloved icon turned deranged princess, this film doesn't live up to any of the ideas and decisions that could have made it the movie of the year. I'm glad we've taken a step back from completely glossing over important struggles in pop culture figures, but this movie was way off the deep end. Princess Di? I am so sorry we keep messing up your story. You were real and you don't deserve to be romanticized, both in your successes and your struggles. We'll get it right soon enough, I promise.