‘Spencer’ is a captivating, haunting fable about Princess Diana

Spencer could be subtitled A Ghost Story.

That much is obvious from the very first moments of this haunting, beguiling film, where an onscreen introduction reads “A fable from a true tragedy” as we see some roadkill on one of the long, winding roads leading up to the wild splendor of the famed Sandringham estate. Subtle this is not. Lush and memorable, however, absolutely.

The excellent new film by Pablo Larraín (Jackie) dispenses with recreating a version of reality à la The Crown in favor of pushing daring thematic ideas about the ever-famous princess. In this tale, Diana (a compelling and totally transformed Kristen Stewart) is haunted by ghosts both real and imagined as she spends a rough Christmas holiday weekend with her mercurial in-laws. These larger-than-life tabloid presences have a relatively small amount of screen time. Spencer is far more concerned with Diana’s headspace as she dresses for each of the many events required of her, hiding — or not — from camped-out photographers and tearfully attempting to figure out who she may be able to confide in at a place where all the walls have so many ears. We watch her attempt to shield her young sons from the worst of it, while the pressures and the cutting remarks all slowly subsume her as she battles with her many personal demons in a very spooky castle.

Larraín and screenwriter Steven Knight make a meal of all this Gothic imagery, making sure viewers are never quite sure what is real and what is imagined for their haunted heroine in this psychological drama. Diana spends restless nights seeing visions of Anne Boleyn wandering the castle, and she worries a similar fate may be in store for her — beheaded and tossed aside when her thoughts and opinions become too inconvenient. During the daytime, she aims to avoid that other irritating ghostly presence, Camilla Parker Bowles. In a quest to get some peace, she even breaks into the boarded-up house of her childhood, now essentially a haunted house of her own making, full of memories of who she was before this famous family got their claws into her.

Diana is sad. Her boys are sad. It’s very sad!!
Credit: neon

“[They] make a meal of all this Gothic imagery, making sure viewers are never quite sure what is real and what is imagined for their haunted heroine”

It’s a provocative idea, especially in an era of new interest in the princess from Gen Z. That sky-high intrigue allows this film the freedom to dispense with character introductions and plot backstory. Anyone at a Spencer screening knows the broad strokes of this storyline and time: Bad Charles, miserable marriage, stalking paparazzi, Cold Queen. New characters here include a dresser-turned-confidante, Maggie (Sally Hawkins), mysteriously sent away by The Powers That Be once Diana starts asking too many questions, and an eerie palace aide (Timothy Spall), who ups the creepy factor by seemingly always appearing just around a corner, ready and watching.

It’s all captivating, and Stewart is never better than in this high-profile role. Bearing a striking similarity to the Princess of Wales, here Stewart is all sharp facial angles and coy smiles (plus that voice!). Sumptuous costumes by Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina, Little Women) perfectly invoke Diana’s looks of the era, and the actor expertly melds the many contradictions of the persona with just a glance or a sigh — timid yet daring, so brave yet so troubled. So much privilege and yet oh-so-sad. The cinematography is also top-notch, with plenty of stunning, artful shots of the glamorous gowns and hallowed halls. It’s honestly thrilling at some points to just watch Stewart gracefully stalk around in full princess regalia against an array of gorgeous backgrounds.

For a film with so many interesting, challenging ideas about a very studied topic and individual, it’s slightly disappointing to see some of the symbolism and imagery rely on ideas that have become near-canon in projects about the late princess, particularly the idea of animals being hunted as a heavy-handed metaphor for the royal family and its relationship with the public and the press. But that’s a quibble when there’s plenty new here too, especially as the film builds towards its sharp climax.

Spencer’s central fable concerns itself with a distressed woman finding a way out of the madness. With such a dark real-life ending, it’s nice — and a little radical — that the Spencer team squints enough to also find moments of triumph. There is no happily ever after like in a child’s fairy tale. Yet somehow, Larraín and Stewart have crafted a fairy tale of sorts for adult women. It’s a potent fantasy just as intoxicating as the childhood stories we were told: a heroine that manages to defeat the monsters and gets to reign over her own life, if only for a moment.

Spencer is in theaters Nov. 5.