The full trailer has been released for Spencer. Starring Kristen Stewart as the late Princess Diana, the movie was written by Steven Knight and directed by Pablo Larrain. Along with Stewart in the lead, Spencer stars Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins, and Jack Farthing. It held its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival this month, where it wowed the critics, and now the full trailer has made its way online. You can watch the video below.
The official synopsis for Spencer reads: “The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different. SPENCER is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days.”
In a statement, director Pablo Larrani said of the movie: “Building the character of Diana, we didn’t just want to create a replicated image of her, but use cinema and its tools, like time, space, and silence, to create an internal world that struck the right balance between the mystery and fragility of her character. Both these sides of her are very visible in the scenes that have supernatural elements. My idea was not to drift towards the paranormal or absurd, but rather reflect an inner life. Everything Diana sees is a reflection of her memories, her fears and desires, and maybe even her illusions. These elements take something that is happening inside her and show a vulnerability that is very beautiful.”
This role appears to be one of the best of Kristen Stewart’s acting career so far. The actress, who broke out in Hollywood as Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga, has been impressing critics who’ve seen Spencer. There has even been some early buzz of Stewart’s name in the running for a Best Actress award at the Oscars based on the performance. She may not have been the first name most people probably thought of when it comes to casting Princess Diana, but critics seem to be in consensus that Kristen Stewart nailed it.
“[Director Pablo Larrain] called me on the phone,” Kristen Stewart said of accepting the role in Spencer at the Toronto International Film Festival. “At first I hadn’t read the script yet, and he proposed this idea and said he was doing this sort of weird tone poem about Diana, and asked whether or not I would be interested in tackling the subject at all, before he sent the script. Kind of without thinking, very irresponsibly, I said ‘Yes, absolutely.’ In the moment right before I was going to say, in a word, yes or no, I was like ‘Who are you if you don’t say yes?'”
Fortunately, it’s working out well for Stewart, as Spencer is sitting at a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of now. Time will tell if it’s enough to put Stewart up for an Academy Award, but things look promising so far. The movie is scheduled to be released in theaters on Nov. 5, 2021.