Set over a particularly bleak and glacially unfestive Christmas at Sandringham with the Royal Family, Spencer focuses on Diana in the dying days of her marriage to Prince Charles and her own inner demons. At its heart, Kristen Stewart does give a strong performance (indeed, one of her best) that embodies the typical public perceptions of Diana very well. The script, however, often veers between clumsy melodrama and bizarre artsy flourishes, and by portraying Diana as a mix of helpless victim, delusionally paranoid and dangerously unhinged, the film hedges its bets and fails to find a consistent identity or point of view. It portrays typical assumptions about The Firm as viewers would expect, from the lavish but strictly regimented royal routines through to the family's chilly emotional repression, augmented by an intriguing score that juxtaposes classical and jazz-inspired stylings that reflect the formal regal moments and Diana's troubled and unhappy state of mind very effectively. In smaller supporting character roles, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris and Sally Hawkins all give noteworthy performances. Spencer is a reasonable if inconsistent and not entirely convincing fictionalised account of the events leading towards her tragic ending, artfully staged and featuring a well-cast leading performance.
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