Spencer, the 2021 historical drama starring Kristen Stewart and Timothy Spall, has found a new home on Channel 4's streaming service. The movie, which aired on Film4 on Tuesday night (16 December), was written by Peaky Blinders and House of Guinness creator, Steven Knight.
Inspired by the life of the late Princess Diana, Spencer offers a dramatised account of her Christmas celebrations at Sandringham House in 1991.
Knowing that her husband, Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) has been having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles ( Emma Darwall-Smith), Diana (Stewart) finds herself in the throes of an existential crisis while deciding whether or not to divorce Charles and leave the royal family.
Rounding out the cast, Timothy Spall stars as Equerry Major Alistair Gregory. Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins, Stella Gonet, Richard Sammel, Elizabeth Berrington and James Harkness also appear.
A film which was well-received by critics, Spencer currently holds a Certified Fresh score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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"With a stellar performance from Kristen Stewart, director Pablo Larraín's supremely brilliant Spencer is an enlightening glimpse into the mind of Princess Diana that doubles as an effective horror film," raved USA Today.
Echoing this sentiment, Entertainment Weekly wrote: "For all of Larraín's artistry, Spencer would crumble in the hands of the wrong actress, and Stewart gives one of the best performances of her career so far as this highly subjective version of Diana."
Meanwhile, the Austin Chronicle noted: "[Stewart's] interpretation of Diana is risky, but it is also the glue that holds this brilliantly odd and lavishly shot film together."
Joining Digital Spy for an exclusive interview, Stewart was asked about the film's themes around gaslighting and mental health.
Revealing how much she drew from the writing, the actor replied: "The script was so good. It was so precise. And to have something so specific and finely drawn also allows for so much of your own feeling and thought to inhabit the space."
Describing Spencer as a movie that's "not plot-heavy," Stewart mused: "If you were an alien that just dropped down onto the Earth and didn't know about the royal family or Diana, or what ultimately happened, the movie would make no sense. We bring our memories and our projections to the film. And so it's very curious and sort of psychotropic."
Spencer is currently available to watch on Channel 4's streaming service.
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