Kristen Stewart at TIFF 2021
Written By: Margaux Fortier
Kristen Stewart is a veteran of Toronto International Film Festival and her film Spencer is getting a lot of buzz at this year’s festival. Spencer is premiering at the festival this week and Kristen’s conversation shed light on her acting process and the making of the film.
After an eclectic and diverse career, Spencer is a psychological imagining of the life and death of Princess Diana while paying homage to her larger-than-life persona. After extensive research into her life, Kristen was able to experience the subtleties and magnetic quality of Diana Spencer. The dichotomy of her life was palpable, with her relatability and inaccessibility alongside her warmth and protectiveness. Diana has fascinated people since she was in the public eye in her teens and her influence on the world has lingered for all this time since she has been gone. All of these elements made the role a necessary addition to Kristen Stewart’s resume, even though there was a huge risk taking it on.
The most important element of Lady Diana’s life that Kristen wanted to get right was her relationship with her children. She said that Diana couldn’t protect herself but she was protective of her children and truly let herself be free while with them. She could make herself grow to her full potential while with her sons and Kristen felt that the project wouldn’t be worth doing if she didn’t get that connection right and believable. Amazing casting of young Prince William and Prince Harry made their scenes engaging and full of connection. They even went ‘off book’ in some scenes and were able to embody the characters in a natural and visceral way.
Kristen was in Toronto in 2019 to promote her film Seberg, a biopic of the influential French New Wave actress Jean Seberg. Though there are many differences between the late Jean Seberg and the late Lady Diana Spencer, both women were backed into corners because of overly invasive attention on their lives. Kristen Stewart said that both lives fascinated her and made her want to give them a platform. She considered both women voiceless in shaping their legacy and her work is able to remove their muzzled voices and space to scream. It is her contribution to retroactively liberate their lives.
Though Spencer has not yet premiered in Canada, it has some power behind the camera that makes it a promising title to check out. Shooting, at times, on 16mm film added an immediacy and urgency to the filmmaking process and allowed director, Pablo Larrain, to put forward an innovative vision. Kristen Stewart also praised the work of genius cinematographer, Claire Mathon, saying that she absorbs the environment around her and anticipates how to film based on emotion rather than technical process. A film that is getting so close to the life of a woman in history works well with having a woman looking through the lens. Kristen felt that Diana was very alone but she felt accompanied and supported when embodying some of the low moments.
Kristen Stewart is already getting attention in anticipation of this film. There is award season talks going on the entertainment community so we all look forward to seeing what the cast and crew have put together. Spencer opens in Toronto tonight as part of the Toronto International Film Festival program and will have wider release on November 5, 2021 across the US.
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lagauhb5GyY
