Contemporary 2021 Selection: Spencer (2021)

 Pablor Larrain's "Spencer"


Pablo Larrain's "Spencer" explores three days in the life of Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales. Larrain's films presents the viewer with a more subjective experience of its protagonist. Her experiences never seem to extend beyond her own state of mind. This state of mind seems to be that of a hostage, as she intimately feels the suffocation of the expectations laid on her. Minute experiences continue to chip away at her emotional state, which is constantly on the verge of breaking. The staff and her children are the only characters that provide an element of humanity in an environment that seems to be lacking it. 

Through this subjective experience, we see her being haunted by ghosts of the past, like Anne Boelyn. The arcaic tradtions of the past becomes their own ghosts of the present. And eventually, we see Diana become her own ghost of the future, as she is trapped by her circumstances just as Boelyn was. Her restlessness is consequence of the stagnation and rigid order around her. Things are done just as they always have been and this fixation on tradition and the past traps her there as well, never allowing her to leave. This also comes about physcially as she is not able to physically leave the grounds. The total restriction placed on her makes her feel completely dehumanized. 

The film takes place in 1991, around the same time that public trust in the royal family was beginning to disintegrate. The film itself comes at a time when trust in all governing bodies are disintegrating as well. Larriar's Christmas nightmare seems to illustrate the temprement of our time period. Our current restlessness with the social stagnation is reaching a breaking point, mirroring Diana. 



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