Spencer; movie review
SPENCER
Cert 12A
117 mins
BBFC advice: Contains eating disorder references, self-harm, infrequent strong language
Why, why why, why?
Why is there another movie about Diana when all that needed to be said about her surely has been.
Why did Pablo Larrain and the film's makers create such an outlandish fiction?
Why were they obsessed by Diana's eating disorder?
And why are critics lauding this ghastly picture as a potential Oscar contender?
In the nearly 11 years of everyfilm.co.uk I have only ever walked out of a cinema when subtitles did not work.
About two-thirds of the way through Spencer, I was seriously considering abandoning ship. It's a pity I didn't because it becomes even more ludicrous as it progresses.
The only saving grace is Kristen Stewart's impression of Diana - she certainly sounds like her and looks like her.
Otherwise, the film is risible.
The tone is set from the opening moments when Diana slips her protection detail and turns up to Sandringham late for Christmas.
Straightaway, veracity is out of the window. Firstly, Diana would never have been disrespectful to the Queen. Secondly, we are expected to believe that her security team merely disappeared into some sort of space-time continuum because they are never seen again.
Instead, the man who is in charge of her wellbeing is the Queen Mum's equerry, played by Timothy Spall.
He is a right know-it-all, tut-tutting whenever she misbehaves and insisting that she falls into line on protocols.
His character is not remotely credible but even more beyond the pale is Diana's 'favourite dresser' played by Sally Hawkins.
Again there is no suggestion that this very personal confidante remotely resembles a real person.
Meanwhile, there are conversations between Diana and her sons (Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry), with an awkward Charles (Jack Farthing) and, briefly, The Queen (Stella Gonet).
Of course, I understand that screenwriters always take a degree of licence but I can't understand why Steven Knight has gone so far off piste with Spencer.
I can only presume he has a beef with the Royal Family and/or Diana because he seems to have lost even a the slightest desire for facts while completing his hatchet job.
I can only advise people to avoid it.
Reasons to watch: Kristen Stewart's passable Diana impression
Reasons to avoid: It is just bunkum
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 1.5/10
Did you know? In the spring of 1862, Sandringham House with its estate at the time of 2,800 hectares was bought from Charles Spencer Cowper, the stepson of Viscount Palmerston, as a country home for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who had just turned 21. He later became King Edward VII.
The final word. Pablo Larraín: “The Royal family is very discreet and we don’t really know much about them. That provides a lot of room for fiction. You can read a lot about her, but there’s a point you have to stop or it can swallow you, paralyse you. When you’re doing a movie that has such a strong psychological perspective, you can never really research that.” Indiewire
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