The first peak at the new Princess Diana biopic, Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as the late princess has debuted.
Spencer is set over three days during Christmas at the royal family’s Sandringham Estate in 1991 as Diana decides to end her very public and troublesome marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). Spencer is directed by the celebrated Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, who is also known for his direction on the acclaimed 2016 movie Jackie about former First Lady Jackie Kennedy.
Despite her death nearly 25 years ago, Princess Diana continues to be a cherished cultural figure. Known for her warm demeanor, compassionate charity efforts, and her personal struggles with bulimia and mental health, her enduring legacy has led to a recent resurgence in cultural productions about the icon. Recently, interpretations about her life have been featured in Netflix’s hit show The Crown, and in the Broadway musical Diana, a song and dance show about her life, set to debut on Broadway on November 2nd. Now it is Stewart’s turn to embody the icon.
Of playing the people’s princess the Twilight actor said that she felt “protective” of Diana and found mastering her accent “intimidating”. She also described the movie as a “really poetic, internal imaging of what that [experience] might have felt like rather than giving new information.”
The trailer mixes cuts of the opulence of royal life—big homes, beautiful dresses—with the pressure of its spotlight—the camera flashing, Diana crying. In the trailer’s final moment we see Diana being told, “They know everything,” before she responds, “they don’t.”
The film is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival next week before it’s released in theaters on November 5th, 2021.
Top Photo: Screenshot from Youtube
Kelsey lives in New York City and is a student at Barnard College, where she studies Anthropology.
