Spencer

Princess Diana is depicted like never before in this artful chamber piece from Chilean film-maker Pablo Larraín. Historical fact is of secondary importance to atmosphere in a drama that describes itself as "a fable based on a true tragedy" and is closer in spirit to the director's Jackie than Netflix series The Crown. Set over three days at Sandringham in 1991, the film renders royalty as a stifling farce, with the princess wrestling with bulimia and self-harm. Giving a superlative performance, Kristen Stewart cannily replicates Diana's posture and plays up to her pop-icon persona. Among the supporting cast, Jack Farthing makes for a haughty Charles, Timothy Spall is a stony-faced aide who "watches so no one sees", while Sally Hawkins and Sean Harris also figure among the household staff. Traditionalists may spurn Spencer's freewheeling approach, but as a portrait of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it casts a lasting spell.