Spencer

“Are you real?” About 2/3 of the way through Pablo Larraín’s mess of movie, Kristen Stewart, playing a character who might be Princess Diana, asks this question to Sally Hawkins, playing a character who might have been Diana’s Chief Dresser. This is the essential question of the film: “Are you real?” Well, yes, the film is real, but most of what happens in the film probably isn’t. Some of those things include Diana conversing with the ghost of Anne Boleyn, Diana eating a pearl necklace (and, of course, vomiting it right back up), and Diana acquiring wirecutters to break out of Sandringham and to break into her now-abandoned childhood home. Yes, Diana most likely was the victim of a repressive royal regime, but this film makes me want to shake her and tell her to get it together and show up on time - or, better yet, to push her down the stairs. That Kristen Stewart is considered a front runner for the Best Actress Oscar leaves me asking Hollywood, “Are you for real?” Not recommended, unless you want to roll your eyes for two hours.