Pablo Larrain on How ‘Spencer’ Offers a “Cocktail of Respect and Freedom” to Princess Diana
To free himself from the prison of historical accuracy, the director explains how he captured the essence of the late Princess of Wales with a "true fiction" approach.
Kristen Stewart on the set of ‘Spencer’ with director Pablo Larraín.
Courtesy of Frederic Batier/NeonIn Neon’s Spencer, Kristen Stewart gives a beguiling performance as Princess Diana of Wales. Taking place over three days during the Christmas holiday as the royal family gathers to enjoy extravagant meals and throw shooting parties in the country, the film sees Diana falling apart at the seams. With rumors of Prince Charles’ infidelity looming over her — as well as the crushing weight of royal tradition that leaves the princess losing any semblance of control over her life and body — Spencer resembles a psychological thriller about the dissolution of a marriage and a woman on the verge of a breakdown.
For director Pablo Larraín, who explored a similar interiority with his 2016 film, Jackie (which starred Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy immediately following her husband’s assassination), the concept of a biopic is pure fantasy. “The fact that we can re-create certain things and portray who a person really was — that can be a suffocating idea,” says Larraín. To free himself from the prison of historical accuracy meant capturing the essence of Diana. “My personal process is choosing a few days of someone’s life to show how they would behave in the most transparent and unsettling ways [amid a crisis],” he says. “That crisis can define the rest of that person’s life.”
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The disastrous union between the prince and princess is an oft-told tale, first in the tabloids and made-for-TV movies and most recently on Netflix’s The Crown. Spencer‘s perspective, however, is entirely from Diana’s point of view — and with that subjectivity came a creative license to tell an emotionally accurate tale about a moment in her life. “It’s a cocktail of respect and freedom,” says Larraín. “I believe that once the doors closed, all you have is true fiction.”
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“True fiction” might be an oxymoron, but it’s an accurate way to describe the director’s approach to his subject — who, after all, transcended even the royal family (to their frustration) to become an internationally beloved figure of both frailty and strength. “Diana was a regular, ordinary person in a very unusual context,” the director adds. “We’re dealing with real people and with real institutions, and it was important to find a balance where I could personally go to sleep [at night without] feeling that I’m hurting anyone.”
This story first appeared in a November stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.