Spencer trailer: Kristen Stewart aces as Princess Diana

It is Christmas and the whole family is going to spend some time together. For now, the marital troubles between the couple are only a rumour.

Diana arrives late, as if to make a point, and decides she can keep a stiff upper lip, for which the Brits are famous for. It is only three days, she consoles herself.

The trailer promises a dramatic, focussed and complex take on the character of Princess Diana, which has been often been reduced to either pure evil or the very definition of goodness in public imagination. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between.

Spencer looks like a compelling examination of the psyche of a woman feeling resentment and who was, most agree, wronged by the powerful royal family.

The film does not purport to be an all-encompassing story of Diana, which is good, because we already have too many of those. Stewart looks breathtaking in the role. She appears to be nailing that elusive accent Diana had.

Kristen Stewart’s turn as Princess Diana has been praised almost universally. (Photo: Neon)

Directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight, the film has received highly positive reviews, with Stewart’s performance one of the things being singled out for praise.

The film has scored 91 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, “Spencer can frustrate with its idiosyncratic depiction of its subject’s life, but Kristen Stewart’s finely modulated performance anchors the film’s flights of fancy.”

The official synopsis reads, “The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different. SPENCER is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days.”