Spencer (2021) - Kristen Stewart dazzles in astonishing mental health case study!

If you went back in time, and told teenage me that in 2021, I would willingly go to watch a film with Kristen Stewart in the leading role, and then leave said film, strongly believing that Stewart deserved an Oscar for her performance, I would've thought you were certified insane! I had nothing against Stewart as a person back when I was a teenager, I just simply disliked the films she was associated with. Those directing in those projects didn't help matters, not giving her the material to pull off an incredible performance. But of all the places to find such a performance from Stewart, the recent film, Spencer, would've been my last choice for a prediction. Alas, this film left me stunned!

We all know the tragic story of Princess Diana's death in 1997, as well as the very public way her marriage with Prince Charles broke down prior to that. And with other projects such as Netflix's The Crown already covering this moment in time, it's questionable as to why there needs to be a film? And very early on, it became clear to me what the film was trying to do. It didn't want to turn the story of Diana into a hyped up drama where real life people are antagonised to represent public opinion, which is what The Crown sometimes felt like when covering this and other moments in history. Instead, the film makes a very smart choice to focus on being a character study on Diana, particularly the conditon of her mental health, which isn't something that many people would consider. If you watch interviews and archive footage of Diana, you can see that something is eating away at her from the inside. And this film does an incredible job at giving an idea of what she might have been feeling. I can see people preferring something like The Crown over this, as this film does have a very slow, art-house feel to it, but that is exactly what makes this film so special. It doesn't need to rely on booming shouting matches to put across the upset and torment going on within it's titular character. And the film is more about the representation of Diana's mental health, and seeing her break away for her own benefit, rather than showing us the dramatic break down of her marriage. We know all that already, so it makes sense to show the personal impact.

I applaud Kristen Stewart for getting completely lost in this role, so much to the point that when the trailer for this film first dropped, I didn't even recognise her. I had heard of this film being made a few years back, but quickly forgot about it, not wanting to give it much attention. But when I saw how much attention to detail Stewart was putting into her performance, I had to really eat my words not just about this film, but about Stewart as an actress. She perfect captured Diana's mannerisms, from the way she spoke, to how she held herself. In my eyes, Kristen Stewart even surpasses Emma Corrin's portrayal of Diana from The Crown. While Corrin does a sublime job of creating a dramatic on-screen tension, she doesn't seem to convey the emotional turmoil as well as Stewart. Her interpretation of Diana makes her look more of an angry person, rather than a sad and tragic figure. Whereas Kristen Stewart gives us all these emotions in one beautifully performed package. The cast in general provide first class performances all round. A key name of mention is definitely Timothy Spall, who is a very approachable yet mysterious figure throughout the film. You can never pin down whether you think he wants to support Diana, or is simply monitoring her in order to relay back to higher ups.

This film is very similar to another Oscar winning film about mental health, that being 2019's Joker. Both films had their titular character be the focus of a character study, which lets the audience see how their environment and circumstances has taken a damaging toll of their mental health. Where these two films differ, is the choices the characters make to deal with their problems. The lead character in Joker chooses to embrace violence and mayhem, in order to unleash himself from the torment that he is facing. While in Spencer, Diana too faces a lot of internal torment, but ultimately lets her spirit soar, and peacefully walks away from the source of her frustration and upset, ending the film with the only things she needs to keep her mental health in a more balance frame of mind. The setting of this film is exceptional, having it focused around the christmas period of 1991 on the Sandringham estate really establishes how Diana is being physically cut off from the outside world, only having the elite surrounding her, putting more strain on her mental state. The idyllic English countryside looks so beautiful through cinematographer, Claire Mathon's beautiful camera work. The use of colour is also beautifully planned out. No matter where you are in the film, there's always the sense that the colour is being drained from the world around Diana. Even in rooms which have bright colours used as part of the decoration and design, it never feels warm and welcoming, which only makes the audience want to see Diana break free even more so.

Something I found interesting was how the royal family aren't overly antagonised in this film. It's obvious that they are a source for Diana's frustration and internal torment, but it feels more like a result of circumstance. It's noted throughout the film, that things that bring Diana stress and upset are more often than not, a form of tradition, something established long before those that are in this film were even around. And for the majority of the family, they appear to have been able to settle into these traditions. Diana's situation is a really clear way of separating her from the family, by showing that these traditions can have a really negative impact on a person's wellbeing. It doesn't paint the royal family as pompous and heartless, but more unable to change due to the circumstances of the traditions they must follow. There are hints of how controlled life as a royal is, but it's not a clean cut representation of Diana and Charles shouting at one another. It actually gives the characters time to just listen to one another. Nearly everyone in this film is soft spoken, and it's actually really clever to have the actors do this. It means that their facial expressions and physical performances get to do more of the talking. Another moment I love with Kristen Stewart is when she really shows her frustration to Jack Farthing's Prince Charles. Rather than immediately going into a fit of screeching rage, she simply slams her hands onto a table, which shows so much by saying so little. It also means that when Diana finally raises her voice to the royal family, it feels more shocking and really becomes an earned moment of heightened anger.

After giving Spencer a fair chance, it's safe to say that this film is the perfect example of never judging a film before seeing it. If I had continued to be biased against this film due to a teenage opinion of it's lead actress, I would've missed out on a beautiful masterpiece. Kristen Stewart MAKES this film, and gives probably the best performance out of any film released during all the Covid drama. If you're interested in an alternative take on the subject matter being focused on in The Crown recently, then I can't highly recommend this film enough! It's beautiful to look at, gives incredible commentary on mental health, and gives Kristen Stewart the time to truly show off what an amazing actress she can be when faced with a brilliant script, and a director who knows exactly what performance they want!

SCORES

Story - 5/5

Characters - 5/5

Production - 5/5

Acting - 5/5

Music - 5/5

TOTAL - 10/10