MOVIE REVIEW: SPENCER

 

In 1991, while spending the Christmas holiday with the royal family at Sandringham House, Princess Diana decides to leave Prince Charles.

Director: Pablo Larraín

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Jack Farthing, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins, Stella Gonet, Richard Sammel

Release Date: November 5, 2021

Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance

Rated R for some language

Runtime: 1h 51min

Review:

Pablo Larraín's poetic nightmare opens with the preamble "A fable from a true tragedy."  Those expecting a more tactile grounded approach to Princess Diana will likely be frustrated by Spencer since it plays more like a fever dream.  Larraín's film delivers a disquieting disorienting experience from the onset and it rarely lets up.  Long tracking shots mixed with an unnervingly but effective soundtrack echo sequences from Kubrick's The Shining or even Polanski's Rosemary's Baby.  He builds Diana's mental claustrophobia and paranoia with expert precision but the film hinges on Kristen Stewart's turn as Diana.  Stewart's performance bleeds through the screen as she makes you feel every moment of Diana's mental tightrope walk on the edge of madness through whispered words and outburst of rebellion.  She shares believable chemistry with Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry who play Diana's children with those moments working as anchors for the character's state.  Sean Harris and Sally Hawkins deliver strong supporting turns as supportive confidants while Timothy Spall is ever present and menacing throughout.  The film's script is dense with thematic undercurrents and meaning which it subtly weaves into the story early on however it decides to hammer home the point by spelling out metaphors in the final act.  It's a minor complaint to an otherwise mesmerizing film which takes you on an unexpected journey into Diana's psyche.   

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: EARLY MAN

A plucky cave man named Dug, his sidekick Hognob and the rest of their tribe face a grave threat to their simple existence. Lord Nooth plans to take over their land and transform it into a giant mine, forcing Dug and his clan to dig for precious metals. Not ready to go down without a fight, Dug and Hognob must unite their people in an epic quest to defeat a mighty enemy -- the Bronze Age.

Director: Nick Park

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall

Release Date: Feb 16, 2018

Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Rated PG for rude humor and some action

Runtime: 1h 29 min

Review:

Early Man, Nick Park’s latest claymation entry, is as decidedly charming as it is British.  It’s got some solid laughs even if never really nails an emotional center.  Park’s characters are fun and eccentric but the film’s brisk pace never lets us get too close to any of them.  Eddie Redmayne’s Dug is central character and he’s a likeable sort matching Redmayne’s endearing voice work.  Tom Hiddleston hams it up as the film villain who’s never any sort of real threat.  I would have liked to have seen Maisie Williams character get more to do but she’s still solid in parts.  The movie’s real MVP is Dug’s side kick Hognob, a prehistoric hog, who is good for laughs throughout.  Early Man probably won’t be remembered as one of Nick Park’s classics like some of his Wallace and Gromit films or even Chicken Run.  That being said, it is a charming family film that’s going to leave a smile on most people’s face.

B