"Spencer" dir. by Pablo Larraín

"Spencer"

Where I streamed it: Prime

Everyone's talking about Kristen Stewart's performance but nobody's talking about the camera angles.

I'm actually surprised that this wasn't nominated for any directing/cinematography awards as it's super proficiently executed. There's a tightness in the shots that feels claustrophobic and suffocating. The aspect ratio is slightly tighter than a standard 16:9 and coupled with the excellent score by Jonny Greenwood it makes for pure anxiety. Reminiscent of some of Kubrick's best works with lots of long steadicam tracking shots through ornate hallways.

This film has nothing to do with the car crash and is instead a character study of a person alienated in their surroundings in search of their sense of identity and well being.

So... of course let's talk about the performances. Timothy Spall is excellent in this with his droopy bloodhound dog face. Kristen Stewart is a weird choice... her accent slips in and out and for some reason she decides to deliver every line in a Shatner-esque staccato fashion. It's weird that they styled her hair more like Camilla than Diana. Sally Hawkins was pretty good.

Overall this movie is a whole bunch of nothing. Extremely boring at times and aggravating at others. I couldn't care less about the royal family and I find Kristen Stewart painfully irritating in almost everything I've seen her in.

The goods are purely in the cinematography and direction. There's some cute corgi dogs too.

4/10

Comments

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