My family have a long running and quirky family Christmas tradition called “This is my friends seat”. I’m not sure if this is top secret and if it is, sorry. TIMFS involves the family being split in two and half of the family being taken to another room. The first half still in the room have an empty seat next to them are each designated a “friend”. Then when this is done, someone from the other room goes back in to this room and amongst the ominous cultish chanting of “This is my friends seat” then has to sit on a seat next to whoever they predict to be their friend. Get it right, they get applauded and it’s nice. Get it wrong, they are booed with no mercy and have to leave the room until a minute later when they try again and it repeats until they find their friend. This could potentially lead to being jeered five times in ten minutes by your very own loved ones. It was a horrible brutal game which as part of ones upbringing made them more resilient. If you could handle being booed and taunted by your own family, you could handle everything.

If that Christmas tradition seems weird and intense, well wait until you hear about Spencer.

It’s very difficult to define Spencer in a certain genre, however I think tonally it sits within the horror genre. Not full of scary moments, it certainly plays a heavy atmosphere piece with a simple plot. Lady Diana (Kristen Stewart) goes up to Sandringham Palace on Christmas Eve and has to survive a strange house of tradition for three days, with each small thing playing on her mind.

The reason it feels like horror is that feeling of being trapped. The opening shots are drone shots over a foggy palace with nowhere around, somewhat reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel and with the winding red corridors you see your characters walk around and occasional visions of people who aren’t there, any tributes to The Shining don’t seem accidental. You try and work out a map of the place in your mind, but are unable to as there is no exit. Put this along side the incredible jazz soundtrack with its dissonance and it feels quite overwhelming in putting you into Lady Diana’s head.

The other scary element is the royal family. They never quite look right or normal. It’s always tense and on edge as both the queen and Charles are constantly shooting piercing, unblinking looks like they’re always looking over her. It’s welcoming but in a cold way which somewhat reminded me of Get Out while watching it.

Arguably, it’s similar to The Nest, the Carrie Coon and Jude Law film which came out earlier this year. While Carrie Coon provided one of the best performances of the year in that role, Kristen Stewart is similarly strong and I regularly forgot I was watching an actor. The coldness between her and Jack Farthing’s Prince Charles was stark. Only if there were public cameras around were the two ever in the same shot. Otherwise, you’d never see them on screen, the camera instead flicking between one and the other when in conversation, never with any warmth. This was contrasted strongly with her warm and nurturing relationship with William and Harry.

The side cast were similarly eerie as well, as dressers and cooks popped up throughout, seemingly gossiping and in cahoots as Diana felt the world increasingly against her. In the kitchen there is a sign which says quiet please, the noise travels, showing how Diana constantly feels watched, judged and shamed by all those around her including her own family. Trapped in, but refusing to become a royal the whole theme of the film is about her remembering herself and standing strong. She is given a set of pearls which were also given to the queen by Charles, which act as a motif compared to an old ragged coat of her fathers which she found earlier on a scarecrow. They almost act as a dog collar restraining her and trapping her in. At this point, it’s also worth noting how absolutely fantastic the costumes were, with each reflecting a different mood and a battle and so much focus, it was important that each one was on point.

Obviously, such a film will be politically charged. Showing the Queen and Charles in a bad light wasn’t a problem for the director. William and Harry are both there and concerned, although treated with warmth and clearly the only reason their mother stays around.

The ultimately difficult thing for the film maker to do is find an ending. Regardless of how happy it may end, it’s a story you know will end in tragedy. Any sense of liberation or relief is temporary, any potential relationship developments will end in tragedy even if you don’t see them on the screen.

Summary

Spencer is an eerie mood piece about a strange family Christmas. It’s always going to be a difficult balancing act with very little information about how much of what you watch is true and how much is exaggerated. Regardless, it provides an intriguing drama with a strong sense of paranoia, brilliantly shown by Kristin Stewart. [Grade: B+]