SPENCER - cinemabang.com

Set on the Sandringham Estate over the course of 3 days during Christmas 1991, Spencer is a fictionalised account, unlike Netflix’s The Crown which is a work of fiction that masquerades as fact. We’re told at the beginning that Spencer is a work of fiction based on “a true tragedy”, of how Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) was treated and felt emotionally at the traditional Royal Christmas gathering.

It’s not hard to see whose side director Pablo Larrain is on as it’s about as one sided a story you could ever hope to come across. Diana’s first introduction to Sandringham has her being weighed on a set of scales, on the Queens instructions,” you have to put on at least 3 pounds or you’ve not had a good time” the crusty Queen Mother’s equerry Major Gregory (Timothy Spall) tells her. Bearing in mind that this is a person who has a well-documented eating disorder, her treatment borders on torture and things only go downhill from there on in as she’s ostracised by every member of the Royal Family, The Queen (Stella Gonet) only offers her scowls and cold stares over the dinner table whilst Charles’s treatment of her borders on emotional abuse.

Stewart has being getting some rave reviews for her performance but having never known Princess Diana, Stewart’s mannerism’s remind me more of Bella Swan from Twilight (2008) than anything I’ve seen of Diana.

All in all Spencer is enjoyable piece of entertainment, provided of course that it's taken with a pinch of salt.