This archive report was first published on 4 September 2021.
At the Venice Film Festival, Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Princess Diana in the film 'Spencer' premiered to a warm reception, with some critics already tipping her as an Oscar favourite.
Directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, the film follows a transformative Stewart as the troubled Princess Diana reluctantly joins the royals for a three-day Christmas gathering at Sandringham House as her marriage to Prince Charles breaks down.
Speaking after a press screening, Stewart reflected on Diana's enduring legacy 24 years after her death, saying: "I think it's just something she was born with."
"There are some people endowed with an undeniable penetrating energy. The really sad thing about her is that as normal and casual and disarming in her air (as she was), immediately she also felt so isolated and lonely," she added.
Stewart drew critical acclaim for her intense performance, including a posh British accent, with the Daily Mail calling her "spectacular."
"Kristen Stewart is Oscar-deservingly great – and Meghan Markle's going to love it," Daily Telegraph critic Robbie Collin tweeted.
Published on September 4, 2021, the film portrays Diana as a misfit, increasingly isolated and estranged from the rest of the royal family - with the exception of William and Harry - and longing to break free from rules and traditions she sees as hypocritical and suffocating.
Stewart said that despite the sadness permeating the film she had very much enjoyed embodying Diana, her manners and demeanor, adding however that "the curtsy went out of the window as soon as I stepped off set."
"I took more pleasure in my physicality making this movie than I have on anything. I felt more free and alive and able to move and taller, even," she said.
