Art is still the best antidote to the boulevard: Pablo Larrain’s Diana fantasy “Spencer”.
Pablo Larrain’s film “Spencer” is like the monarchy he describes: a beguiling anachronism, lavish and yet ascetic in its strict form for the absurd. You don’t have to be particularly conservative to understand why the British are so attached to their monarchy. When everything is up for grabs, London has become priceless and neoliberalism has gnawed the welfare state to the bone, then at least one thing, as senseless as it may seem, must be allowed to stay as it is. Even if it is only as a final incentive for the good traditions that have been preserved to stay there for a while longer.
You can be more worried about the survival of the cinema. But as long as there can be a film like this, as long as it is possible to celebrate such an expensive art form at such a level, we can rest assured. “Spencer” is settled in 1991 during a few days of a Christmas holiday with the royal family in Sandringham House in Norfolk; Larrain dresses the princess’s inner demarcation process in often surreal images. Queen Elisabeth is reduced to an almost silent supporting character, Prince Charles speaks most of his brief dialogue on a pheasant hunt. It is the greatest possible alternative to the smart, half-hearted ironic tabloid bliss of a series like “The Crown”.
Kristen Stewart carries the film almost alone in an unheard-of performance, her face, which is made up to astonishing resemblance, mimically tells an inner monologue of immense dimensions. This has not happened very often in film history, for example with Carl Theodor Dreyer in the silent film “The Passion of Johanna von Orleans” and with Roman Polanski in “Disgust”.
And as far as the attention to detail is concerned, the perfection of the ensemble scenes, the view of the decor, the comparison with Luchino Visconti’s costume dramas is not daring. Pablo Larrain’s “Jackie” already gave an inkling of his talent at stylizing historical tableaus into irritating picture puzzles. But there is also a subliminal surrealism here – the scene in which Diana spoons the pearls of her necklace out of the soup instead of the starter is unforgettable. This present from Charles shatters on her neck by itself, and if she later chokes out the strange soup again, that is also a strong picture for Diana’s bulimic illness.
Historians will not feel responsible here. Why should Diana, who grew up not far from the venue, get lost hopelessly on the lonely outward journey in the Porsche?
Larrain and screenwriter Steven Knight already introduce their topic here, the portrait of a princess who just drifts: the marriage to Charles has been given up, she meets obligations with the other royals without a hint of ambition. Sleepwalking, but still a long way from safe. Even the faux pas of appearing after the Queen is only one problem for the others: First and foremost the wonderfully invented figure of a master of ceremonies during these Christmas days, Major Alistair Gregory – played with unusual severity by the lovable character actor Timothy Spall.
But some also have a heart for the lost guest who will later be baptized the Queen of Hearts. In addition to her sons, this is her dresser, embodied by Sally Hawkins with her own disarming naturalness in an unreal world. When Diana wanders through the corridors, a ghost should of course not be missing. This is Anne Boleyn, who seems to emerge from a tome as a reminder to Diana not to lose her head too. Another ghostly location in the film would hardly have been a refuge for the real Diana at this point: the house where she was born, Park House, had been donated by the Queen to a charitable foundation as early as 1993. The gastro temple, which opens up to her with the children as an informal alternative after the severe feast, was more suitable – a Kentucky Fried Chicken.
What a picture the paparazzi who hunted Diana so ruthlessly would have given. Here it seems strangely unencumbered by the myth of the unloved princess, who is misunderstood in her simplicity, against her will. In fact, the posthumous fictionalizations of Diana, the biopic “Diana” with Naomi Watts and the series “The Crown” have to be viewed as refined retellings of this tabloid narrative. This film, co-produced by the great Maren Ade, has none of it: It’s the delicious antidote to it – the real art.
Spencer. USA / GB / D / Chile 2021. Regie: Pablo Larrain. 117 Min.
