Pablo Larraín may be creating a whole new genre: the “fictional fable.” Sure, his films are connected by a dotted line to the traditional biopic, but don’t expect him to define the forthcoming “Spencer” or 2016’s Oscar-nominated “Jackie” as such. “I understand that we need to put things in boxes,” he says, but he’s more interested in the psychological truths of his heroes than biographical ones.
“My personal starting point is to understand that you would never be able to capture anyone. It’s not possible, because that person is so unique and singular,” he says. “But what you can do is create an illusion that works on a more emotional level and an intellectual level. All you can do is try to capture the essence of that person through what you believe is humanly relevant.”
His interest in Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer) began at a young age. From his childhood home in Chile, Larraín remembers his mother not just being interested in, but invested in, this distant woman’s fashions and hairstyles, the royal family’s dramas, and ultimately, Spencer’s tragic death. What fascinated the filmmaker was the question: Why?
“I realized that my mom was just one among millions around the world,” he says. “The more I knew about Diana, the more I was interested [in trying] to understand why such a particular cultural and pop icon was so interesting for so many people.”
“Spencer,” led by a career-best Kristen Stewart, takes a stab at answering that question. Larraín reflects that the princess’s inherent mystery and the difference between her public and private personas are what has enraptured the world—both then and now.
“I think Diana had an enormous amount of mystery, and the more I learned, the more questions I had,” he says. “Now, after I’ve made the movie, I’ve had more.”
That kernel of truth led to Stewart’s casting as the late icon. As a fan of the star’s work in Olivier Assayas’ features “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Personal Shopper,” Larraín says that “she obviously has the skills and the elegance and the beauty to play Diana; but most importantly, she has the mystery.” The inscrutability of his subject and the leading lady playing her served his interpretation of Spencer’s crumbling marriage and relationship with the Crown, “because that’s how each of us can see the version of Diana that you think you see.”
“It’s hard to define,” he adds, “and the harder to define, the better it is.”
Looking back at his time filming in Germany earlier this year, Larraín recalls that Stewart was “a force of nature,” “so confident,” and “so fearless” from beginning to end. “It not only speaks [to] the talent she has, but also [to] how much of a hard worker she is. She really studied and went through a very tough process.”
As to the beguiling traits that first lured the filmmaker to the performer, Stewart’s mystery, even after the intimacy of a demanding shoot, remains intact. That, Larraín believes, is the mark of a true movie star and artist.
“We get along well; we started a friendship. I love her, and it’s fantastic. But the process requires a camera and a lens; I wouldn’t be able to define her on a personal level,” he says. “What she does really well—and it’s why I keep thinking she’s like an old-school movie star—is when she’s in front of the camera, it just blows. That’s something that I [don’t see] in other actors, and I just don’t know how or why it happens…. I find that incredible, spiritual mystery that comes out after you film someone and create the illusion of, in this case, Diana, so beautiful.”
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