Entering the Film
- Trigger warning for some extreme and uncomfortable Mental Health experiences
There are quite a few Oscar contenders I have yet to see from this past award season, but out of everything I have seen so far Spencer is my favourite. Spencer operates on a lot of assumptions and I think that it works for the film. One assumption is that you came into the film knowing who Spencer is and knowing about Diana’s life. As someone who was a child during the Diana days I was unaware of the full details of her story. In fact it’s safe to say I didn’t know much at all save for some rumours of how the royals didn’t approve of her and how she was constantly getting into trouble. I do vaguely recall the news of Charles’ infidelity, but that was it.
Diana’s Psychological Inner Life
Spencer, however, doesn’t start and end with a desire to tell you about the Diana the paparazzi were documenting, the Diana newscasters talked about or the royals had thoughts about. This Diana is the Diana in her internal experiences and in her head. You see this struggling young woman being abandoned, neglected and unheard. You see a woman whose husband is cheating on her and who is mourning someone or something from the past that is never explicitly told to us (father, family, childhood self), but is shown through sequences: a little girl dressing up a scarecrow, running through fields, dancing, sitting alone. We watch her mind unravel as paranoia, hallucinations, bulimia, self-harm and desperation take a hold of her.
And all the while, Pablo Larrain is showing us this unravelling as if it were some delicate and beautiful moment to behold. The music is forlorn and yet the colours are bright. She is dressed in pearls and gowns, and she cannot keep down her food. She is desperate to be heard, to have a friend, to be herself and all there is are walls caging her in the form of rules, tradition, betrayal and empty rooms.
Safety in Relationships
In Spencer Diana comes to life in only a couple of scenes: the ones where she is with her children, her friend, and the ones where she is feeling free to do what she wants. I think that freedom conceptually for Diana often came along with her children. She sees them as ways to be herself, an uncaged bird. She can use them as gateways and access to brief moments of lightness. Her children love her and she loves them. Most everything else abandons her.
Final Thoughts
I’ll also mention briefly that I saw Jackie, Larrain’s film from a few years ago in the theatre and though I thought it was okay (attempted this same level of eeriness and discomfort with a famous woman’s inner life) this is by far a better film. It’s a believable and aesthetically beautiful take on this period of Diana’s life.
Lastly, Kristen Stewart is so utterly perfect as Diana it’s astonishing to watch at times. So often you’re enraptured by the scene and what you see really is Princess Diana. I really feel that Spencer deserves the Oscar for best picture, personally, and it’s unfortunate it did not receive it.
Rating: 5/5
If you’d like to watch Spencer you can stream it on Hulu!
