Movie Review: Spencer

 Movie Number 5 for 2022

Movie: Spencer

Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 4

It's been a hot and humid week and being the worst of the cloying days on Invasion Day, a trip to the cinema seems a great antidote to my hot and cloying flat. So I took myself off to see Spencer, more to escape the heat than for the will to see it. 

There's been a lot of hype over this - Oscar buzz as well as general comments about the choice of actress and the appropriateness of this movie, which comes out of a German production company, and filmed almost exclusively in Germany (Which, lets face it, looks a lot like the Suffolk countryside.)

The movie takes place over the three days of Christmas at Sandringham after the separation of Charles and Diana. Diana's star is on the rise and she's just a little unhinged. Well, it seems a bit like that. 

What comes out of this film is a claustrophobic sense of dread as Diana endures these days with the family, the strange rituals she has to partake in, her love for her boys and her need to break free from this very strange, very public family. Adding to this, the music accompanying this was excellent. 

The star of this film is Kristen Stewart who is incredible as Diana. She embodies the woman and appears to have every nuance of the late princess down pat. The Oscar buzz around her performance is well deserved as she carries this film to the end. 

Other notable performances include that of Timothy Spall (who resembles a sharpei now that he has lost a lot of weight) who plays the Queen's butler with glee. He's a disturbing man. Sally Hawkins plays Diana's dresser, Maggie, and her scenes with Stewart give some light relief to a film about a woman in distress. 

Talking with Jay and Cleo tonight at the gym, they could not see why I would want to go to this film, seeing it is all conjecture - and I get that. However, this representation, though it may not be plausible, is excellent. The music, the cinematography and Stewart's performance are worth the price of a ticket alone. 

This definitely isn't a film for everybody, but there is a hell of a lot to like in it. Me, I admire it a hell of a lot, mostly for it's portrayal of a woman on the edge and the impending sense of doom. 

And I'd put money on Stewart receiving an Oscar nomination. She's earned it. 

Today's song: