REVIEW | Spencer: The Silent Grief | tomatoes

All of us at some point in our existence have fantasized about having the life of a famous figure: the spotlights blinding our pupils at the most important social events, owning majestic real estate, dressing in the most elegant textiles, having our words taken as absolute truth without much questioning and transcending from this life leaving a legacy printed in the history books. However, everything is part of a utopia surrounded by dark nuances that is far from what really happens behind the curtains. Diana Frances Spencer does not need a letter of introduction, the Princess of Wales was one of the most "controversial" personalities of the British Crown and I put it in quotes because that is the image that the international media were in charge of attributing to her until the day of her tragedy. death. Spencer - 85%, directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín (Ema - 93%, Jackie - 88%), offers a suffocating window into 3 days in the life of Diana and, although much of the events are fictionalized, the harassment of the press and family pressure she was under feels overwhelmingly real.

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As the legend at the beginning announces it, Spencer is a “fable of a real tragedy” and transports us to December 24, 25 and 26 in the year 1991, one of the last Christmas celebrations of the Princess in the house of Sandringham Field, when her marriage to Prince Charles was reaching breaking point over rumors of infidelity. Larraín's direction knows exactly what he wants to tell, avoiding giving a biographical treatment to his feature film to concentrate on a key passage that allows us to understand who Diana is at that moment without the need for background information. The filmmaker manages to make us fraternize with his story and the personal, media and family situation of his muse because his lens does not see her as anything other than a human being in search of her place in this chaotic world. That is where the film finds success: breaking with the image of a martyr that other productions (among them The Crown - 90%) could not dissolve.

Although the film has its roots in drama, its best moments come when it navigates between psychological terror and surrealism. An example of this, without revealing many details, is the first dinner with the entire royal family: a moment of palpable tension where judicious glances fall on our protagonist's every slightest gesture, marking the beginning of a series of subtle actions that will fuel the Diana's internal conflict to break her from within. The atmosphere of the footage is as suffocating as the necklace that Prince Charles gives Diana and as uncomfortable as the archaic guidelines imposed by the regime, all this extracting more from the implicit than from the explicit, in the end the violence continues to be violence in any of its forms.

REVIEW | Spencer: The Silent Grief | Tomatozos

Kristen Stewart's performance has been on the lips of international critics since its anticipated premiere at the Venice Festival and it is no wonder, without a doubt, it is the best work of her career to date. Here we see Stewart more vulnerable than ever, with feelings on the surface to bring to life the most human and eloquent side of Princess Diana, but also the most fragmented, the one that demands all of her facial, body and verbal expressions to make an impact. like a bucket of cold water to the audience. Each scene with her in the frame is a delight, she is capable of taking us to all the emotional corners of her character and when the moment of catharsis finally arrives, we breathe the same fresh air as she did. Sally Hawkins's participation is brief but memorable, providing us with a welcome warm spot as a remedy for unremitting tension, and Timothy Spall is up to the game as well, the actor managing to blot out any charismatic glimmer from himself to remain forever despicable.

Claire Mathon's photography is at times reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining - 92%, it is the perfect combination of ingenuity with beauty, her framings do justice to the monumental extension of the estate where the events take place and each Taken indoors is a perspective: at times he makes us follow Diana with our backs turned as another voyeur of her anguish, on occasions he uses angular shots of Stewart's face to allow her gestures to speak for her and in others he moves by dexterity between the wide corridors and cold rooms to make them feel stifling. There are also a couple of truly spectacular open plans, all the while enhanced by a vivid color palette.

The soundtrack to Spencer - 85%, composed by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, is shrill enough to keep us immersed in the story, using jazzy percussion and strings to tug at the viewer's heartstrings, managing to move and unsettle the audience. the same measure. You don't realize the power of his music until you realize that you've been squeezing the edge of your seat hard for 5 minutes. Another technical section that deserves an honorable mention is the wardrobe: here it is a fundamental resource for the plot to progress, elegantly accompanying Lady Di as a reflection of her emotional state or being the juxtaposition of that. It is impossible to leave the room without wanting to replicate some of the sets that are exhibited in its almost two-hour duration.

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The icing on the cake comes in the form of a slow-cooking rhythm that is perfectly justified so that the viewer can contemplate all the information that is presented to him and can reach the meditative state that the director aimed for. Even in its most taciturn moments, the film never loses the progressive force that it displays from its prologue.

Finally, Spencer - 85% is a psychological experience from which it is impossible to escape unscathed. Whether viewed for the technical aspects, its storytelling prowess, or as a showcase for a harrowing performance by Stewart, Pablo Larraín's latest feature is a no-brainer in any department. Whether or not she wins an award at upcoming ceremonies, this instant classic will linger in people's memories as a warm window into the true face of the Princess of Wales, one that gives us the chance to watch her fly like a bird out of her gilded cage, even if it's just for a moment.

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