Image source: Us Magazine
Princess Diana's story retold by Kristen Stewart's Spencer.
Princess Diana, also lovingly remembered as the Princess of Wales spent a great part of her life in the eyes of the media. Spencer, a biopic retelling of the Princess's story casting Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, now once again brings the Princess's life to the big screen.
Kristen was fairly open about the challenges that she faced during filming the biopic and revealed that she was very excited about the role. Talking about the film and her casting in October 2020 with InStyle, Stewart said, "I haven't been this excited about playing a part, by the way, in so long."
Even decades after her death, Princess Diana is remembered as the Princess of the people and continues to impact the lives of many. Stewart is well aware of the public perception of the royal and had to work hard on the charisma that the Lady radiated so naturally. Princess Diana, once Lady Diana Spencer, continues to be loved as a kind humanitarian with the reputation of a saint, and that is one of the things that Stewart had to master.
To get the character of the charming princess right to the T, Stewart took the help of a dialect coach. She revealed, "The accent is intimidating as all hell because people know that voice, and it's so, so distinct and particular. I'm working on it now and already have my dialect coach."
To get a better hold of the late Princess's tone and voice, Stewart took to listening recordings of Diana's voice months prior to shoots commencing. Stewart understood how sophisticated it would be to play the role of a person with such a great character and took it upon herself to learn as much about Princess Diana as she could. She said that she read countless biographies about the Princess and even wished she could meet the Princess of Wales personally so that she could fit her role better.
"It's one of the saddest stories to exist ever," she said. "And I don't want to just play Diana — I want to know her implicitly. I haven't been this excited about playing a part, by the way, in so long," ended Stewart.
Mostly, when biopics are made, actors tend to meet the person of the biopic individually so as to understand their mannerisms, their way of talking, and their personality. But Stewart, born in April 1990, was too young ever to have remembered from the days back when she was alive. Princess Diana was a victim of the fatal car accident in 1997 in Paris that brought about an end to the days of the Beloved Princess of the People. Actress Kristen Stewart was just 7 at the time, and the Princess herself was 36.
Consequently, the only option left for the Twilight actress and the film creators was to conduct thorough research to understand the personality of the Princess in better terms.
Stewart also admitted to feeling "protective" about Princess Diana as she learned more about her. "I was really young, didn't know what was going on, but now, it's hard not to feel protective over her. She was so young. … Everyone's perspective is different, and there's no way to get everything right. Because what is the fact in relation to personal experience?" the actress said.
What's Spencer about?
Image source: Us Magazine
The biopic, instead of retelling the entire life of Princess Diana, focuses on a brief period about her life that is particularly very tense. The film is more about the love that Princess Diana holds. Kristen Stewart, talking about the plot of the movie, said, "My movie takes place over three days, and it's this really poetic, internal imagining of what that might have felt like rather than giving new information. So, we kind of don't have a mark to hit. We just also love her."
The movie spans over three days during the Christmas holidays in 1991, zooming down on the relationship of the Countess of Chester with the heir apparent of the British throne. Just a year later from the Christmas events, the couple officially separated. Hence, the film centers on the royal family tensions and drama that might run high during the holiday season at Sandringham Estate.
Film's cast and release date
The Princess Diana biopic is all set to release on November 5, 2021, with Kristen Stewart in the lead, playing the now deceased Princess of Wales. Other cast members to grace the movie screens are Jack Farthing from Poldark, who will be playing the crown Prince of Britain, Prince Charles. Timothy Spall from Mr. Turner, The Shape of Water's Sally Hawkins, and Sean Harris from Mission: Impossible – Fallout are other key cast members.
Behind the Scenes team
The film is a collective project of British screenwriter Steven Knight, known for creating the Peaky Blinders, and Pablo Larraín, who is the director of the film. You might know Pablo Larraín for directing Natalie Portman starrer Jackie, where the actress plays Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy.
First look at Spencer
Image source: Neon
Taking note from Disney's iconic dramatic pose used to show princesses in despair, the first look poster of Spencer as released in August 2021 shows the Princess of Wales bent over in grief. The royal is shown wearing an embellished white ball gown and yet opposed to Disney's happily ever afters, the poster reads, "All fairy tales end."
The trailer and summary
Neon, the production company responsible for Spencer, shared an official description about the film, which stated, "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."
The trailer showed an exceptional performance by Kristen Stewart, and the American actress does justice both to the British accent and Princess Diana's voice and inflictions.
The film premiered at the Telluride Tracesm Festival earlier in the September of 2021, and critics were left shocked after seeing Kristen's performance. Mara Reinstein, a critic at Us Weekly, said, "I didn't realize she'd completely immerse herself into this role, leaving zero traces of her lip-biting Twilight teen past. By using her real-life shyness to her advantage, Stewart plays Diana as a soft-spoken yet self-reliant modern woman who daydreams of the rambunctious girl she used to be. In her heart, the People's Princess can still dance with exuberance and sing with abandon and eat all the fast food she desires. It's a joy, not to mention a revelation, watching the star pull this all off."
Stewart is herself very pleased with her portrayal of the character. She disclosed to The Los Angeles Times, "I felt some spooky, spiritual feelings making this movie. Even if I was just fantasizing, I felt like there were moments where I kind of got the sign-off. It's scary to tell a story about someone who's not alive anymore and who already felt so invaded. I never wanted to feel like we were invading anything, just that we were kind of adding to the multiplicity of a beautiful thing."
The trailer beautifully yet heartbreakingly captures the dilemma of the free-living Princess who wished for nothing but "change," which was hard to bring about despite her royal status. The trailer showed a goosebump-inducing and tense scene between Prince Charles, played by Farthing, and the Princess. The dialogue delivery is on point as Prince Charles exclaims, "You have to be able to do things you hate. There has to be two of you. There's the real one and the one they take pictures of."
So, stay on your toes to witness the biopic of a lifetime and also keep an eye open to see young Prince William and Prince Harry as played by Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry.
