The long-awaited film about Princess Diana will appear in Polish cinemas this fall. You can't miss this premiere. However, before you head to the cinema or stream it online, get to know some interesting facts and controversial issues about it.
Princess Diana's life is basically a perfect script for a film. However, "Spencer" does not cover the entire biography of the Queen of Hearts from birth to death, but a pivotal moment: three days in December 1991, when it became clear to her that her marriage to Charles was a sham. Princess Diana Spencer died on August 31, 1997, in the Alma Bridge Tunnel in Paris, along with her friend, Dodi al-Fayed.
In April 2008, after nearly six months and over 250 witness testimonies, the jury in London finally ruled that Diana's death occurred as a result of reckless driving by the driver who was chased by paparazzi in the Paris tunnel. It was also determined that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, and the passengers didn't have their seat belts fastened. Despite the 24 years since the accident, speculation persists that the "accident" was a staged scenario by representatives of the Royal Family.
However, the film "Spencer" does not touch on this topic. It focuses more on the deteriorating marriage and the end of the sham: the moment Diana realizes she needs to cut herself off from the toxic rest of the family, taking her sons with her.
Princess Diana: a film of limited trust
Producer of "Spencer", Jonas Dornbach, admits that the American actress playing a Brit and the Chilean director of "Spencer", a film shot almost entirely in Germany, might clash with the expectations of the British. However, Stephen Knight's script (Peaky Blinders, Locke, The Invisible Ones), based on conversations with people closely associated with the court, gave them "a lot of trust in the film".
Moreover, the director of the film, Pablo Larrain, has previously made other films about famous women, including the popular Jackie with Natalie Portman in the lead role. Therefore, the producer was confident about the implementation of the script, certain that it was in good hands. "I didn't want to retell a story that everyone knows, but to try to do something different: to understand a person who was thrown into an exceptional situation and to track how she coped, or didn't," Dornbach told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview.
A Lifetime Role for Kristen Stewart?
It was controversial not only to entrust the realization of a film about the British court to creators from outside the UK but also to cast Kristen Stewart, known primarily for her role in the Twilight saga, in the lead role. According to the sarcastic internet reviews, she is also the "one expression actress".
Many critics (amateur and professional) wrote this film off as a loss upon hearing the news that it was Stewart who would play Princess Diana. However, the film looks promising: the trailer is very intimate, the characterization is accurate and spot-on, and Stewart's portrayal of "Diana" is subtle. Like the princess, she does not use broad gestures. She acts mainly with her face: her eyes and small gestures, micro-expressions, which are complemented by a lethal honesty and directness, not common among the other members of the royal family, guided by famous English courtesy. There's a buzz that this is the role that will get Stewart out of the Twilight and similar teenage productions drawer.
Princess Diana – a Documentary Marred by Disgrace
In the 24 years since Diana's death, more than one film about Princess Diana has been made. The documentary Unlawful Killing, produced by Dodi al-Fayed's father, Mohammed, is one of them. The businessman and former owner of Harrods spent £2.5 million on its production. He has stubbornly claimed for years that Diana and Dodi were victims of a conspiracy by British special services and Prince Philip (husband of Queen Elizabeth II). Dodi's father claims that Diana knew her life was in danger, which she wrote in a letter to one of her friends. However, the film about Princess Diana is not a film with a ready-made thesis. It is based on questions and their analysis, which each viewer can conduct autonomously and decide who to believe.
The film stirred controversy not only because of a series of uncomfortable questions to the Royal Family. It also features a photo of the dying princess, taken shortly after the accident.
Spencer – a Film about Being Oneself
What is the narrative about Princess Diana? According to the latest reports from critics in Venice, the film is a modern, yet subversive and rather gloomy version of a fairy tale we are used to. Against the backdrop of Diana's private drama, which many "normal" women know from their own experience, Lorrain and Knight also ask more questions about the limits of individual freedom, defined from A to Z according to the court protocol, and about the sense of the existence of the monarchy in its current form in the 21st century. Given the recent resignation of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from privileges, titles, and life at the court, this question is quite relevant.
