Known for the Twilight franchise, Adventureland, and a number of indie gems, Kristen Stewart is bound for her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress as Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, a look into the life of the beloved British royal family member as her marriage to the heir apparent to the throne Prince Charles. The film had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival on Friday and North American premiere at Telluride on Saturday.
Larraín has previously directed another impressive film about an iconic 20th-century tragic female figure, 2016’s Jackie, which imagined what life was like for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (played by Natalie Portman) following the assassination of her husband.
In Spencer, the focus is on Diana’s fragile mental state over a Christmas weekend, 10 years into her marriage with the Prince of Wales, right before the end of their relationship.
Portman went on to win Best Actress at the Oscars, so the trajectory is there for Stewart, as she brings along her commitment to the part, studying season 4 of The Crown as well as her experience as a famous young woman herself, after the success of Twilight and her rumored romance with her co-star Robert Pattinson.
Written by Steven Knight, who created hit gangster show Peaky Blinders, the film is a blend of Hitchcock’s series of haunted women, as described by Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter.
The aide who actually hurts the protagonist Major Gregory (Rebecca‘s Mrs. Danvers), the unfaithful husband Prince Charles (Suspicion‘s Johnnie), and the problematic mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth II (Notorious’ Madame Sebastian).
Spencer hits theaters on November 5th.
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