A year after The Crown chronicled the turbulent early years of Princess Diana and Prince Charles' doomed marriage, Spencer arrives at cinemas with a fresh new take on the now-infamous union. A fictionalized account of Diana's decision to end the marriage, Spencer stars Kristen Stewart as the Princess of Wales.
Stewart joins a long line of actresses who've portrayed Diana in film and television. Not all of these projects have received as much praise as Spencer, but they all contribute to preserving Diana's legacy as one of the most sympathetic and tragic figures in pop culture.
Princess In Love - Unrated
Anna Pasternak's scandalous 1994 book Princess in Love claimed to tell the story of Princess Diana's affair with James Hewett, written with his cooperation. The book soon became a made-for-television movie released a year before her death.
Despite being currently unrated in Rotten Tomatoes, the film received mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences at the time of its release. Actress Julie Cox, best known for her television roles in her native UK, played Princess Diana in the film.
Diana - 7%
Naomi Watts has a resumé full of highly-rated films in Rotten Tomatoes. After her breakthrough in David Lynch's masterpiece, Mulholland Drive, she became a bonafide A-lister thanks to films like The Ring and King Kong. Throughout her career, she's collected numerous accolades and been honored with two Oscar nominations.
However, her considerable talents get buried in the absolute trainwreck that is 2013's Diana. The film chronicles the Princess' final years, including her romances with Hasnat Khan and Dodi Fayed. Critics panned the movie, praising Watts' performance but criticizing the "shoddy" and "clumsy" script. Diana also sensationalized its subject, falling into the trap of focusing on the people around her instead of the Princess herself.
Diana: The Musical - 9%
2021 saw the release of two Diana-centric projects with Spencer being the most high profile. The other was Diana, a filmed performance of the Broadway production, recorded in 2020 without any audience. The musical attempts to cover Diana's life, starting in 1980 and ending with her tragic 1997 passing. Newcomer Jeanna de Waal originated the role of Diana during the show's previews, reprising it for the filmed version. After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the show will finally premiere on Broadway on November 17, 2021.
Unlike the theater production, the filmed performance received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus being, "Diana done dirty." Wooden performances and offensive lyrics (a song is staged in an AIDS patient ward) were frequently cited as the worst offenders in an overall bad show. Audiences weren't receptive as it currently has a 32% audience score.
The Murder Of Princess Diana - 17%
Princess Diana's tragic death remains surrounded by all kinds of conspiracy theories. The 2007 Lifetime television movie The Murder of Princess Diana, based on the 2004 best-selling book of the same name, follows an American journalist who investigates the circumstances surrounding Diana's accident after witnessing it.
Best known for her many television credits, Jennifer Morrison stars in the movie as journalist Rachel Visco. Princess Diana has only a brief role, played by actress Nathalie Brocker. Like most of the Diana-centric projects around this time, the film uses Diana as a plot device rather than a character worthy of observation and dissection. The film is unrated by critics, but audiences gave it an awful 17% Audience Score, confirming its place among the worst Diana-related projects.
Diana: Last Days Of A Princess - 44%
Diana: Last Days of a Princess is a 2007 television movie starring Irish-Australian actress Genevieve O'Reilly, who fans might know for playing Mon Mothma, one of the best-dressed characters in the Star Wars franchise. The film could be described as a hybrid drama-documentary film, as it blends actual footage of Diana with scripted scenes of O'Reilly as the Princess.
Like The Murder of Princess Diana, Last Days of a Princess has no critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, viewers seem divided about it, as evidenced by its 44% Audience Score. Unlike other similar projects, the TV movie's unique approach of blending documentary-like scenes featuring Diana with scripted passages involving actors does separate it from other Diana-focused movies.
Spencer - 84%
After winning the César Award for the supporting turn in Olivier Assays' psychological drama Clouds of Sils Maria, Kristen Stewart is the current favorite to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Spencer. Directed by Pablo Larraín, the film is a fictionalized account of Princess Diana's decision to end her marriage and exit the Monarchy.
Like his previous film, 2016's Jackie, Spencer received acclaim. Critics focused most of their praise on Stewart's "finely modulated performance," Jonny Greenwood's score, and Claire Mathon's cinematography. The film did receive some criticism aimed at "the idiosyncratic depiction" of Diana's life but the critical consensus was that the movie is worthy. The film is particularly noteworthy for depicting Diana's mindset at a crucial turning point in her life. While not always factual, Spencer never fails to be anything less than enegaging.
The Crown, Season 4 - 95%
Since its premiere in 2016, The Crown has received consistent praise for its portrayal of the Royal Family. The latest season introduced Diana, played by newcomer Emma Corrin, and chronicled her tumultuous marriage with Prince Charles.
Season 4 of The Crown might be the best one yet. It received universal acclaim, as evidenced by its 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The season did attract some criticism for its historical accuracy, but it didn't affect Corrin, who garnered rave reviews. She eventually won numerous accolades, including the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award. Elizabeth Debicki will take over the role for the show's two final seasons but it will be hard for her to match Corrin's unique blend of naivete and calculated intelligence.
The Queen - 96%
Before The Crown, Peter Morgan had already helmed another critically acclaimed project about the British Royal Family, 2006's The Queen. The film centers on Elizabeth II, played by a superb Helen Mirren, as she navigates the tense environment following Diana's death in 1997.
Even though Diana isn't a character per se in the movie, her presence is palpable in every scene. Her shadow looms large over the entire plot, becoming the catalyst for a major shift in the Royal Family and the UK as a whole. Diana does appear in archive footage, but the film is ultimately a character study on Elizabeth II and an exploration of Diana's legacy through the eyes of those who were once closest to her.