Spencer — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
Films of this nature usually aren’t all that appealing to me. A character study set in the past with a lot of long sequences of characters talking about things I’m very unfamiliar with usually doesn’t click in my mind unless it feels different. Spencer is the prime example of a film like this that surprisingly really worked for me. Having known the basic details of the story and having at least a brief understanding of this family’s history, I was at least intrigued to give it a watch. I must say, the slow pace of this film will not work for others, but I found that all the filmmaking aspects, along with the performances, are truly what kept my eyes on the screen.
There isn’t much to give away about this story here. Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) is very unhappy with the fact that she will one day become the Queen. She desperately wants out of this life and the perfection of it all. Resorting to the physical harm of herself due to her confinement with no way out, this film dives deep into the mental state of this real-life figure in the 1990s. A film that relies solely on a performance can easily crumble if the outcome isn’t great, but I can gladly say that this is the best performance Kristen Stewart has ever given and may ever give in her career.
Beginning in films like Panic Room as a child and eventually breaking out in the franchise everyone knows, Twilight, I could never put my finger on why her performances just weren’t working for me. Films like Into the Wild or The Runaways gave her some nice material to work with, but nothing ever jumped out at me that she could be amazing. Well… when the film Happiest Season came out last year, I began to second guess myself. She was capable of delivering a very, very good performance in that film and now with Spencer, she has proven that she has grown as an actress. There were multiple scenes where I forgot I watch watching Kristen Stewart and I don’t say that about many performances. I can usually always tell or get distracted by who is on-screen.
Although taking place in the 90s, Spencer still looked to me like it would feel like a period piece set in the 60s or 70s, but I was very wrong. The very fact that the grainy look over the entire film made it look like a movie that was made in the 90s, but with a much crisper image and wonderful cinematography. Even though there is a lot of good in this film, the cinematography was the largest standout to me. The way the camera captured the openness of the world around Diana, while still making the film feel confined with the excessive amounts of close-ups (in a good way), I was glued to the screen. I never thought a film like this would grab my attention as it did.
Overall, Spencer isn’t going to be one of my absolute favourite films of the year, but I honestly think that’s just because these types of movies don’t appeal to me all that much. With that said, I have to admit that it’s a very well-made film. It made sense to me when I noticed that director Pablo Larraín, who directed this film, also directed the film, Jackie, back in 2016. They are very similar in feel, but I think everything about Spencer is an improvement over that film. I can see many people finding this film boring, as not much happens, but it really came down to the look of the film, the fantastic central performance, and dialogue that surprisingly hooked me. It’s now playing in select theatres and available on-demand.
Rating: 4/5
Check out the trailer below:
