Spencer

Pablo Larraín's Spencer premiered in competition at the 78th Venice Film Festival in September 2021, with Kristen Stewart in the lead. It forms an unofficial trilogy with Larraín's earlier portraits of women under public glare, Jackie (2016, on Jacqueline Kennedy in the days following the assassination) and Ema (2019), and was followed two years later by Maria (2024, on Maria Callas). The film was written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and produced by Komplizen Film, Fabula and Shoebox Films, with Neon and STXfilms handling international distribution.

Stewart leads opposite Timothy Spall as the equerry, Sean Harris as the head chef Darren McGrady and Jack Farthing as Prince Charles, with the children Sally Hawkins and Jack Nielen as Diana's confidante and her son William. Cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) shoots on Super 16 and 35mm in long, courtly takes; Jonny Greenwood's score weaves baroque chamber music with free-form jazz. The story unfolds over three days at Sandringham, with several scenes tipping into hallucinatory dream-sequence.

Stewart received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and European Film Award nominations for Best Actress. Larraín was nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice. Reviews in The New York Times, Sight & Sound and Cahiers du Cinéma praised the film as one of the most idiosyncratic royal screen portraits of the modern era and Stewart's most committed performance to date.