"a reminder that not all fairytales have an happy ending and that at some point reality will come crushing down on everyone"

Directed by Pablo Larraín, Spencer is a dramatic and fictional representation of Diana’s last Christmas in the Sandringham Estate before she decided to leave her loveless marriage. As it states in the opening credits, Spencer doesn’t pretend to be a biography of Diana’s tragic marriage into the Royal Family. The story is defined as a fable of how things might have gone in reality, turning the film into a dark fairytale.

As a director Larraín prefers to focus on the emotional turmoil of his characters. In Spencer the action is mostly centred on Diana, with the camera used for close ups on the protagonists rather than on the bigger moments occurring in the scene.

The film itself is exclusively centred on the main characters, so much so that most of the cast just serve as background props except for the members of the Establishment that directly affected Diana’s mental state and health: The Queen, Charles, Maggie, her sons and Major Alistair Gregory.

The action moves all around the interactions Diana has with all these different people in her life and how those directly affected her mood and being. While the Queen, Charles and the Major represent the Establishment that is trapping her in a loveless life made of sacrifices, Maggie and the two young Princes are her lifeline, the only people who can keep her sane and grounded.

The cast ensemble worked beautifully around Kristen Stewart, who embodied Diana beautifully and almost realistically thanks to the hair and makeup as well has the costume design departments. For the first time in her career Stewart completely lost herself in Diana. Her voice is extremely different and it is really close to the dulcet and husky tones of the late People's Princess. Her body language morphed completely to match the iconic poses Diana was usually depicted with in every video and photo taken of her.

Stewart tapped into her emotions to portray the Princess' struggles with bulimia, depression and anxiety. Her obsession and paranoia becomes the focus of the story and, although her performance is brilliant, this artistic choice ends up making the film quite heavy to follow.

Her mania grows through the film and it explodes at the very end. Stewart is capable of keeping up the same level of energy throughout the film without skipping a beat. Her strongest scenes are the one with the two Princes, the tender affection she has for the boys is clear and palpable and it gifts the audience with a brief moment of hope for Diana.

Although the movie explores the darkness of mental illness in depth, somehow Larraín decided to end the film on a hopeful and carefree tone, which leaves the audience with a bittersweet taste in their mouths since this is a story that in reality ended in tragedy.

Although in the recent years so much material has been released on Diana’s life, almost reviving the historical obsession with her life and tragedy, Spencer shouldn’t be considered as an accurate biography of the life of the People’s Princess, but rather a reminder that not all fairytales have an happy ending and that at some point reality will come crushing down on everyone.