Love it or hate it, you have to agree that the poster is absolute fire

If you absolutely have to make a comparison I think Diana was more like Katherine of Aragon -beloved by the public - known for kindness and charity -had to live with her husband openly cheating on her and then divorcing her and marrying his mistress I’m definitely not saying either is a perfect comparison because I think it’s always kind of a stretch when you try to find direct parallels in history, but I kind of wonder if they didn’t go with Anne Boleyn just because of the beheading.

Completely agree. I absolutely LOVED the aesthetic of this move, it was like a painting. But I could not get over the script, anytime I thought something was a bit clever, they then said it out loud to point out how clever it was and basically ruined it for me.

I didn't understand why people made such a fuss about this movie. I believe a lot of people enjoyed watching it but calling a masterpiece and saying it deserves all the awards is an overstatement.

I couldn't find any other negative reviews online, and here I find that you have mostly managed to verbalised why I didn't like Spencer!!! Thank youuu

I did not like Spencer. It seems to be a very abstract interpretation of Diana. It makes her look completely crazy and I understand why her family does not like this movie. Kristen Stewart has overblown all of Diana's mannerisms and speech to the point it's like a satire. I enjoyed The Crowns Diana much better. That actress captured Diana's faults and emotional problems in a very realistic and believable way. You can see Diana has issues but she doesn't come across as crazy. The Crown also captures Diana's humanity and love for everybody including the sick. Spencer is too out there.

I agree - I was totally underwhelmed by this movie. I’m genuinely surprised it has received so many accolades. I thought it was actually quite cringy and I thought her way of speaking in bursts may not have been how Diana would have spoken. It was depressing when it could have actually been enlightening.

So Diana thinks hunting birds is awful, then proceeds to take her sons to KFC

Just finished watching this movie this evening. Then I looked on UKposts to see if anyone felt similarly. This movie was so juvenile and contrived. After the maid said she was in love with her, I threw up my hands and lost interest. And don’t get me started on that Philip Glass-type background music.

Couldn't agree more with you! Also, really unpopular opinion: I think Kristen Stewart was a colossal miscast. Parts of her performance rubbing me the wrong way is surely the directing, but Stewart has none of the charm Diana had and every negative thing is so damn overacted, I can't even 💀

"a fable from a true tragedy" just call it real-person fanfiction and leave.

HOLY SHIT. You just put together my exact thoughts after the movie. Every single one. The writing killed it. The ending was the nail in the coffin. The soundtrack is SICKENING tho:

This movie should be called 'The curtains and the coat' lol. It was a chore and a slog to get through. I rolled my eyes so many times that I got dizzy. Everybody is loving this garbage🤢

Something I've noticed is fans of this movie aren't just like oh well I liked it they feel the need to personally insult anyone that didn't

I did not enjoy this movie either for all the same reasons you expressed much better than I could! Glad I’m not the only one though!

I agree completely! After I saw Spencer I scoured UKposts and reviews for anything somewhat critical that spoke to my feelings and found none (I think b/c I saw it early in the theatrical run). The circle-jerking over this movie is so annoying. But yes like MY GOD the unsubtle ham-fisted Anne Boleyn bullshit! Hated it. The movie was trying so hard. Too hard. It also didn't sit right for me as someone semi-familiar with more critical views of Diana--not her deified/saintly memory mania. She wasn't just some wilting flower who was SO SAD OH NOES. Diana had many sharp edges (she pushed! her stepmother! down the stairs! as an ADULT!), and she could be forceful, glittering and manipulative... on top of her sensitivities and vulnerability. She was charming, intense, and complex. Played the media like a fiddle (including planting gossip about her sister-in-law Fergie to cover her own ass, re: a story about Diana having an affair). At the point this movie takes place, she had been cheating for years--but they play the line of her playing victim with Charles. Like, yeah, their marriage sucked and he sucked in it, but she was screwing on the side with aplomb (like most royals lol). I would have liked to see a more three dimensional portrait and not only the hard-on these dudes have for Sad, Saintly Diana. Oh and MY GOD THAT LESBIAN MOMENT WAS SO WEIRD. I'm pro-lesbian; it was just done so fucking poorly. Me: a man wrote this. And then the KFC ending. Lord. IMO Kristen Stewart was good in this up to a point... but she's playing a caricature constructed by these dudes, fueled by her own relating of her anxiety to the character. Yes, Diana may have had anxiety... but really NOT to this degree. I think Kristen fed a bit too much of herself into the performance, so it was a lovely one, but not of Diana Spencer. Some nice moments, but just unrelentingly I'M SO VULNERABLE AND SAD.

I just recently saw Spencer with my mom and, well..... we both found it quite underwhelming. We both had the same take. It absolutely bothered us that she was made to look crazy. While I don't doubt that Diana felt crazy living in that pressure cooker, it felt..... defamatory to Diana's memory and legacy. Kristen forced the accent to an irritating degree. Also, the Gregory character reeked of the caretaker from the Shining, which felt like they were going for a horror movie vibe more than anything else. It just didn't land on any level for either me or my mom. If you squint, you could maybe see what they were going for, but.... they would've had to go a lot further for this film to have worked.

KFC actually made a sweater merch reagrding this movie with chickens as the pattern and why it was even placed in the movie to begin with, originally irl Diana actually took her kids to Macdonald's and the movie probably was going to do that but oh my KFC offered a cute sweater merch deal uwu

Okay, thank you for making this. It’s so hard to find a review right now that actually criticizes this movie. It’s… not good. The only saving graces we’re the cinematography and score.

Honestly I found this film so pretentious- an “art film” about Lady Di. The jazz is just so irritating instead of enlightening. All of it is so forced.

I didn't care for this film it's definitely overrated and I wasn't blown away by kristin stewart's performance. It was an okay portrayal just not oscar worthy. Good review on it. Its good to see someone with open mind and not going along with all the charade. Also This movie felt more like fan fiction than a biopic. Lol

The way my jaw dropped at "it's a thrilla in Manila between Diana Camilla"

The confession of love from Sally Hawkins, I believe, was jsut her making fun, to have Diana get that name she was asking for, "Diana the Shocked" since she was just asking what was going to be her one name tag.

It felt like many of it's parts were good on their own, but altogether didn't make for a great final product. I felt what you mentioned about the acting 100%, and idk why, but I feel as if the actors were unprepared. In the crown all the characters feel incredibly well studied. Even tho the Crown is basically the soap opera, I like the performances there so much more. Here I felt exactly as you said: like everyone was just wearing costumes of the characters. And the script felt like the person who wrote it only cared about the Diana story on a surface level

by just watching the beginning of the movie and the long shots of everything I could tell that they were trying to win an award or something like that

When Kristen Stewart portrayed an anxious Diana, all I could see was Bella Swan making those weird noises and faces. I know Kristen is better than this, but I've seen her mannerisms and ticks when she plays a character and immediately I go "that's Kristen" and I'm fully aware it's not the character. she also does this thing with her arm when she portrays stress where she holds it stock straight by her side then sticks her clenched fist out from her hip. I've seen her do it with other characters and that also took me out of this. I didn't enjoy this movie, it didn't endear me to Diana or help me empathize with her, nor did the other characters feel sympathetic. It was all just really unenjoyable

I just found it boring and Kristen Stewart performance was okay imo. The cinematography and costume was beautiful

What I did not like about this movie. Is indeed the made up story and even though she did look like her and she talked like her..but she always walked so fake and those moments where she had the same innocent smile etc it felt like a cardboard character. And indeed the stupid swallowing huge pearls in which a normal human would suffocate. So many weird moments like the sudden lesbian love of that towards her. I think , despite her looking like her, despite the costumes etc it was really a big big letdown for me, this movie.

I totally agree that this film is masquerading as a deep, artistic, nuanced portrayal of Diana's life but in reality, it's just hard to watch. I'm willing to admit that I don't know much about Princess Diana and I'm not a die-hard Kristen Stewart fan so maybe this movie just isn't made for me to like. Most reviews of this movie say that the best part of the film was Kristen's performance but I thought her performance was so distractingly bad. I think that the the pool scene between Diana and her husband was fantastic and the look of the film was impressive but the overall story seemed insensitive and one-noted. At some points, I was actually agreeing with the people around Diana that she was acting unreasonable and mopey. That definitely wasn't the intention of the film.

Kristen's interpretation was also horrifying. It looked like a very bad impression of Diana.

I just finished this film. I like the idea of exploring the ugly side of her life, the pain, the hurt but it made her seem insufferable which doesn’t quite fit the way people that knew her spoke of her.

I tried to see the amazing performance by Kristen that everyone is raving about and------I just couldn't see it. I don't know if it was the melodramatic screenplay or the direction but it felt borderline parody. She had OTT sad eyes and looked ridiculously distraught in every scene. I'm sure that's what they were going for but for me it just didn't work.

yes! thank you for putting my thoughts into words! what bothered me especially was the anne boylen comparison, like, it would have been good if it were like you said "a suddle nod" but it just felt so overly underlined. i did , however, really like the scene where diana is in the candlelight playing with her boys. it felt really heartfelt and unique even though that scene also just mainly focused on diana being sad

Coming from a guy who is greatly disappointed with "Joker", you literally described every "art movies" nowaday. They pretend to be sophisticated but just ain't. Even streaming service like Stan/Netflix/Prime hire directors/cinematographers to explain their own scenes. It's like magician revealing their tricks... or i dunno, wanna boast to everyone how smart they are? This may come out as a rant, but I feel like they are trying way too hard to make their movie feel "DEEP", which has turned into a great marketability these days.

i think the biggest fib is that Kirsten Stewart can act. If this "performance" is worthy of an Oscar, I have to lie down and let the ENTIRE CAST of every show in the BBC walk all over me. That includes reality tv shows. Don't worry folks, everyone will know the Emperor is naked soon enough.

I didn’t like Spencer either!!! I was disappointed .. and why did they make her seem so impossible.

Thank you! I watched this movie yesterday and wondered what was I not getting about it? Am I the only one who feels this way? I am a huge Kristin Stewart fan. Just look at her movies like Speak, The Cake Eaters, Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper and Underwater, great performances. I know she can only work with the screenplay she gets and whatt the director wants, but I just don't get the hype over this performance. I think the screenplay does a huge disservice to mental illness, eating disorders and even more so to Diana herself.

Your review is spot on. This movie was bad. It was very one note. Stewart is not a good actress.

I’ve read she really liked to take the kids to kfc, specifically kfc. If that makes you feel better. Thanks for saving me sitting through a bad movie. Kristen Stewart is always Kristen Stewart to me too. 😂

dont know how gaga didnt get nominated but kristine do

I was so pleased to listen to your review. I watched the movie last night and thought it was awful. I am a massive fan of anything Royal especially Diana and this left me totally cold.

If Melancholia was based around Princess Diana, but less interesting. Great acting. Great cinematography, sets, wardrobe, and overall aesthetics. It just wasn’t entertaining to me. If I ever go back to watch, it would be strictly for the Aesthetics.

Just watched this movie and had to find someone else who disliked it. I was really excited for it, but it was SO not what I was expecting. I honestly kind of hated it, lol. Jackie was definitely the superior biopic from this director.

Funnily enough, I lived in Lancaster in 2000, and the ONLY fast food restaurant I remember being in the town was KFC

I just saw this film and felt like it was about a constipated family dealing with a spoilt child. i agree with your critic Jane. To be honest the royal family is pretty naff tbh and a spent force. Maybe the world has moved on from their pretentious lives . I actually missed the last 30 mins because i could not be bothered with the cliques and insufferable plot. Oh well....

As a person who grew up in the era of Diana, this movie didn't move me. I'm not a royalist but liked Diana. The music was irritating at best almost to the point of nauseating making my British ears bleed. Despite the snail pace of it I understood it's progression to show Diana's decline in mental health from a suffocating environment. I'm not a fan of Kirsten Stewart but I will say she played Diana extremely well. Finally I think she's shook off the glittery sh*t from twilight. I cannot understand how so many reviewers love this film but hey.

I enjoyed the movie, given I don’t know much about the life of princess Diana. It left a lot for my imagination to play with. You do make some pretty good points and while I agree with alot of what you said I still enjoyed the more simple aspects of the movie. Like the color palette and the cinematography and choice of clothing. The music wasn’t very pretty but I guess it wasn’t supposed to be. the whole thing just felt like I picked up a book about princess Diana and just read one random chapter from it so I guess that’s why I can tolerate the randomness. plus kristen was looking real cute 🥰

Oh no, it was demonstrably bad. I don't think that's being said more because of Stewart. I saw her on one of the night shows and she seemed proud of it, in that Stewart kinda way. Anyway, i love Diana, so if course i was going to watch, but i hated this Diana both in how she was written and how she was interpreted. Diana, the people's Princess, the Queen of our hearts, i love her. This movie is horrible.

I knew I hated this movie and didn’t need to see it to find out. That’s for taking one for the team and making bullet points for us 😩😩😩

I love that Miles Hollingsworth is still in the background lmao

The only good Diana media is from the You're Wrong About podcast because they're the only ones who mention that one time she pushed an old lady down the stairs.

They could have at least eaten at Nando's or like a small London chicken shop

Diana was hardly like Anne Boleyn … more like Catharine of Aragorn or Caroline Brunswick

Fun video! Cannot wait for the Diana the musical video!!

I didn't like her looking insane all the time. Craziest people you ever meet aren't a 10+ crazy ALL. THE. TIME. Abuse doesn't work that way, either. Nobody would stand for it. Although over time, VERY VERY nice (to manipulate and keep someone around) to just needlessly mean (snotty things Charles says would be a day-to-day type of abuse. Hard to live with even if physical abuse isn't a factor. Yet)--turns more to mean/abuse over time. It does NOT get better. See Lundy Bancroft. Why does he DO that? Inside the minds of angry and controlling men.

generally, i enjoyed watching this while trying to relax on a plane 😆 i appreciated the surreal take on this after watching so many stiff and stodgy bios and adaptations. kstew was great in disappearing into the role at some parts but then she'd do these exaggerated mannerisms and it took me out, so i def agree with your tag on that. and that kfc ending??? BRO.

You aren't the only one bit liking Spencer, the fake way they portray her making her to be a bratty lunatiy is abhorrent. They think us stupid or that we have forgotten what was said before and after the divorce?

I've watched this review like 6 times. I find myself quoting your dialogue lol. "Isn't that profooound" is my fav one ☝️

If we need to compare Princess Diana and Henry the VIII's wives, I think Catherine of Aragon would've been a better comparison.

This movie made me stop making excuses for Kristin Stewart. She’s just not a good actor, and this is coming from someone who loves her in Twilight, like I rewatch those movies just to watch her because I honestly think what she does in those movies is interesting. In Spencer, I felt like I was watching a hammy child portray Diana. Her pauses don’t make sense, and actually hinder the overall understanding of what her character is saying. Everything about her is sequential. Say line, move, pause, freeze, move again, say line. It happens over and over and it’s so noticeable because people don’t do this in real life. There are performances when you can tell when an actor is thinking more about what they look like while speaking/moving than actually being present within a scene and this is the most blatant example of that I’ve ever seen. I wracked my brain trying to make excuses as to why she was doing this, and tried to justify it by telling myself that it’s to portray Diana being uncomfortable around the royals. But then that scene with her kids came up and I had to abandon all hope, because even with the two Diana trusts the most, Kristin is still giving a super stiff performance, I mean air is barely leaving her mouth. It’s such a mess and I don’t know how people aren’t seeing it? I was so excited to watch this movie given how the reviews were coming in about her performance was a must see and I have defended her acting for years but after this movie? No way. She definitely did a lot of work for this performance, but she put her energy in all the wrong places and I don’t think she actually has a good understanding of acting nor is she comfortable enough in her body to be able to convince an audience that she’s a real a person on screen. There are definitely niche roles that can fit her, but this was so far out of her limited range.

I thought it was just a bunch of reactions nothing more was very weird in general. Nothing like Diana just Stewart with mommy issues in general all you see with Kristen Stewart.

Well said. I haven't seen it but wanted to. Was definitely hoping for some more subtlety. Would you say it's overly American-ized? Or is that too simple of a distinction?

Just came out of the cinema and my god you are the only review speaking my mind! Such a shame because I was hyped from the good reviews to go out and see it and got massively let down by the whiplash fever dream borderline offensive movie this turned out to be I love Kristen Stewart and her acting here was really good the directing was beautiful it’s just the choices by the writers that turned this into a very weird watch 😕

Totally agree

Ok so I'm not the only person who didn't like this movie. I was starting to think everybody was crazy lol. I didn't make it through the film because it was incredibly boring. But this is a great review.

I didn’t like Spencer, but I did like Kristen Stewart’s performance.

A.A. Dowd had a pretty blistering review of Spencer on AV Club. Although people don't go there that often anymore, idk. But yeah, it seemed pretty... meh, overall. I like Kristen Stewart though so hopefully she can bounce back. (I say, as if she cares about what I think about her career. Lol. But still.)

I agree with you 💯💯💯💯

I agree. The only perk i saw was maybe costume design? The writing is like a cheap cliche all through.

This is exactly how I felt about this movie I feel very seen

Thank you, I wanted to like it but I agree with everything you say. It was very uncomfortable to watch and not because of her true story, but because it all felt too stupid and forced. The redeeming quality: the shower.

Watch the Crown. That’s the statement. That’s it.

Didn’t like the movie was boring and hard to stay awake watching it

The odd thing with the KFC ending is that actually if she gone to a generic fish and chippy it be more British and more "commoner" food then KFC cause like every small town in UK has at least 2 fish and chippies. So would have also fit the idea of her "reclaiming" her British roots.

I thought the end of the movie was good if it had been the end to a different movie and not about Diana Spencer. But like a Hallmark Christmas movie or something.

The scene when she asks where she is is cringeworthy. Not a good start. After that, throughout the film most of her lines are annoyingly snarky. I came out of the theater thinking “Spencer”portrayed Diana as not very nice and totally self-focused.

I agree with everything you said…including and especially that bizarre ending!

Only reason to watch The Crown is to watch the performances, also the changing cast is fun. I only started it to watch Olivia Coleman as she's my favorite actress but I have yet to trudge through to her

Plus why She be taking to her Father's coat when,last time cheeked Her Father was still alive in 1991? Why not call your Daddy on the phone for Christmas lol!

33 performances🕊 Hmmm Lady Di didn’t like it herself it seems…

I remember reading somewhere that said Diana's favourite fast food chain was KFC, so it wasn't really product placement

I think the dresser homosexual loves plot elements is a reference to Diana support of LGBT

The dance sequences were disturbing

The Crown is really well done. I didn’t like Diana’s portrayal but everything else is good.

I love the way you break down this movie! As a future director I dissect filme and I’m pretty snobby. I look for creativity, historical accuracy, emotional depiction, camera style and overall story telling. I’m not lying, I fell asleep 2 times and turned it off the 3rd time. It was utterly boring. Some costume design irked me ( the scene in the pantry with her jeans and silk tank top) and overall portrayal of Diana’s character. They made her weak, mousey and anxious in ever single scene. An oddball. She wasn’t like this. Of course she had depression and anxiety of her life in royalty but she wasn’t this overall anxious person to every person like the maids. We don’t know her personally but it was so exaggerated and offense to be honest.

as someone who is foreign and don't know literally nothing about Diana, I watched for Kristen Stewart and it felt like it was a ghost story of a lonely woman stuck in a family she hated, but the narrative repeating itself so much. it's a beautiful movie, i was charmed for the cinematography but the overall felt "eh, ok".

I think the direction, the cinematography, and the general story are pretty strong. But those weird little moments of dialog, like her with her dresser and the tamed horse scene, have no depth and distract from the story I believe the director originally imagined.

I've followed Diana's story for decades, this movie goes over board with art and misses the interesting person and fascinating story of her reality. All the overboard art misses by miles. They didn't need to dramatize her. As history has proven her story has fascinated millions all over the world for more than half a century. This movie was just weird.

Listen I’ve never seen this movie… but you haven’t had KFC until you had it in England. Honesty, I get why they would end the movie there 🤣🤣🤣

I also thought the musical wasnt super good

SPENCER was FABULOUS... to look at. Shot on film. Perfect. KS did a good job ... even if the performance was 'overwrought' ... The script was kinda 'clunky' .. paint by numbers ... UNSUBTLE. The 'colour' or 'tone' chosen for the Royal Family was 'dialed' to ... sombre, humourless .. uninspiring .. 'nasty pasties'. MOST unfair! The Queen can't possibly be THAT character. Overall ... the film reinforced ONE point of view ONLY. Bird in gilded CAGE! The KFC product placement was unnecessary ... (Oh well, shooting on film is expensive). That said ... I loved the costumes, hair, makeup, sets ... It was definitely worth a look.

I understand she was a loving person and that she really suffered but I’m not into the whole Princess Diana thing. She’s not what I think of when I think of princesses. With all due love and respect❤

This movie was awful and though I believe Diana had her days....she was not a complete nutcase (....and yes...I do know this for a fact). This movie was not at all on Diana's side. As I go...I remind those here that she was human and so flawed but she also...like Hercules....had goddess blood in her veins. She was Diana and amazing. The only thing she and Boleyn have in common was they are Queens of England, her Isles and the Commonwealth.

I actually had no idea who Anne Boleyn was until I watched this movie so I guess it was made for people like me 🤣🤣

Thank you for making me feel not insane. My friends all loved it and I thought the writing was heavy handed and atrocious

alexa play “i can’t be tamed” by miley cyrus

A pleasant review, even if I think this was a pretty great film. Yes. There are some heavyhanded flaws in the writing, but as a tragic critique of monarchism it was pretty refreshing. Not just Diana but every member of The Royal Family is captured as static prisoners just playing their roles, and the servants are the soldiers of the system. I loved that it kept in mind that Diana is not like the ordinary people of her country. She was born as an aristocrat just like all of them. And well yeah, it's so beautifully shot.

I think the accent that stetwart brought up was atlease 1+ point for the movie but if we are really talking about the plot and story of the movie...well its a complete cliche and some of the stuffs i saw in the movie (clips) were really questionable, and there were not much critism's in the movie itself which i also found as something concerning (im used to people having theyre own constructive critisms on a movie), but other than that i hate how they use anne boleyn as the comparison as diana surely the crown can do better but this movie is mostly comparing diana between anne boleyn which i think is really unecessary to, and the representaion to the fictional characters are pretty...bad and i see the movie lacks the real representation to diana herself but they made this whole movie a complete cliche so i will give the movie 7.5/10 although they have room for improvement i just cant with the movie- honestly they should have picked someone else to write the story

Completely agree with you, this movie is an abomination and the casting and music are atrocious.

Spencer wasn’t that great a movie but The Crown is actually a really good show. I love it