Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer” is a haunting reimagining of a tense Christmas holiday during the life of Princess Diana. It is a psychological thriller about a fragile woman held captive, figuratively and literally). The movie contains imaginative dream sequences, internal and externalized torment and metaphor dialogue that leaves you unsettled.
As “Spencer” presents it, Diana is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who openly betrays her. She’s effectively imprisoned. In this movie the audience is placed in Diana’s mindset. Viewers are able to capture the sense of time when Diana was at a critical point in her life and this immersive feeling allows one to empathize with Diana.
There are many literary symbolisms in this movie. Let’s talk about the pearl necklace. Diana is supposed to wear this necklace to dinner but she is also aware that Prince Charles got the same one for his mistress. The pearls were killing her softly. She grabs the pearls around her neck as if the necklace itself was suffocating her.
She finds solace when she comes across a biography of Anne Boleyn, the wife that Henry VIII accused of adultery. She begins to feel Boleyn as a kindred spirit.
Overall, Kristen Stewart did a stellar job and is worth of being Oscar nominated for this film. Her performance is natural as it is powerfully melancholic.
There is much more to analyze in this film – I encourage you to watch it and formulate some ideas!