Spencer 4 ½ stars
Pablo Larrain’s Spencer is a biopic of a different sort, one that sets the mood early with a view of a pristine kitchen with a sign that says “They Can Hear You”. The discordant jazz score tells us that this is a story filled with tension and distress. We are viewing the Christmas holiday with the British Royal Family, around 1991 and the primary focus is on Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart in her best role to date). She has been married to Prince Charles for ten years and it is clear this is not the picture of happiness. Throughout the movie the camera is always on Diana and we only get a periphery view of the rest of the royals. Diana interacts more with the staff of the palace including Major Alistar Gregory (Timothy Spall), Maggie, her dresser (the great Sally Hawkins) and the chief cook (Sean Harris) and the police assigned to guard the palace. The set schedule and assigned wardrobe for each occasion brings out how for Diana this is a prison where she has little freedom. Although it is never spoken we know that there is another woman in the picture. There is no character representing Camilla Parker Bowles and we never hear her name, but it is clear there is something unwelcome going on. In this fictionalized drama, Diana is haunted by ghosts of Britain’s and her family’s past. Her own family estate lies vacant and boarded up, but the memories still occupy her. The one bright spot in her life are her two sons, William and Harry. When we see her with them her entire mood and that of the film becomes bright and warm. The music and cinematography contribute to the feeling of the movie but it is really Stewart’s performance that make this a great movie. I don’t think it is too early to say that Kristen Stewart is the one to beat for the Best Actress Academy Award. (Of course, I am waiting to see Lady Gaga in The House of Gucci.)