Spencer

It's December 1991. The British royal family is gathering to spend Christmas at a royal estate. The abandoned Spencer estate is nearby. Diana (Kristen Stewart) is driving herself and arrives late. She finds herself more and more isolated. Major Alistar Gregory (Timothy Spall) leads the staff to impose order upon her.

There seems to be a lot of praise for Kristen Stewart's work in this. I can certainly see what she's doing and she's doing a lot of it. Sometimes, people say that an actor disappears into the role. In this one, I never lose sight that this is Kristen Stewart. She is doing her standard jittery demure acting. It always looks like her and her movements. A lot of this rides on her performance and I like it less than most. Timothy Spall is performing through his deliberate gritting teeth. Again, I get the work but I would like less singular mannerisms. As for the story, it hits the broad elements of the situation. I do like the mental health aspect although there is no way to know the truth. This is sensationalized. It would help if the performances are more toned down and normalized especially Kristen. She needs to do less of her jittery demure.