The first official teaser trailer for Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín’s biopic on Princess Diana recently debuted online and is already receiving some major awards buzz. Spencer stars Kristen Stewart (Adventureland) as the late Princess of Wales during the time when her marriage to Prince Charles was in decline.
Larraín is no stranger to powerful historic films. In 2012, he directed the drama No about the 1988 campaign to stop Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet from staying in power. Four years later, he tackled the life of Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda in 2016’s Neruda. He also directed Natalie Portman to an Oscar nomination in the 2016 drama Jackie, where she played US First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Although next year’s Oscar nominations are months away, some film pundits are already putting their money on Larraín to do the same with Stewart.
Based on the trailer alone, the ambiance feels a lot like Jackie. It’s elegant and beautiful on the outside and seems to be brimming with pain right beneath the surface. If you’re still not sold on Stewart taking on the role because all you can think about is the Twilight saga, search out her independent films The Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper, and Certain Women and see what a powerhouse she really is.
As for Larraín, the Santiago-born director’s stock has never been higher. This year he released the AppleTV+ miniseries Lisey’s Story based on a Stephen King novel of the same name. Earlier this year during an interview with Remezcla, he described the similarities between Jackie and the miniseries.
“I’ve made movies where there’s an individual who has a very specific state of mind that is in friction with the environment,” he said. “That environment is also in a crisis, so the friction between the individual and the environment makes those movies work.”
With the Royal Family at the center of Spencer, it sounds like Stewart’s Princess Di will find herself maneuvering across the same type of hostile terrain.
Spencer is scheduled to debut at theaters November 5, 2021.