not 100% sure how to process everything quite yet, but overall i dug this. it's claustrophobic and intimate and puts you right in diana's head. the royal family, particularly charles, are a looming presence, but larraín's decision to focus on diana and her relationship with her boys and other non-royals helps solidify this as diana's film rather than just another royal family melodrama. i, admittedly, haven't been as convinced of kristen stewart's range as everyone else until now, but i'm always happy to be proven wrong--she's a powerhouse. the film is damn near flawless from a technical level (claire mathon! jonny greenwood!) and absolutely captivating with every frame.

i suppose my only issue with the film is that it's very scene heavy, which isn't necessarily an issue but it does make it hard to wrap my head around the film as a cohesive work. what i mean by "scene heavy" is that the film almost feels like a series of set pieces instead of a continuous storyline. i had a similar problem with jackie, but it worked much better here. each and every one of these scenes is fucking fantastic, but sometimes they didn't feel like they fully meshed together. i think i just need time to process, and maybe a rewatch, but other than that the film is completely invigorating. there's a dark edge to it, but i loved how, at the end of the day, it still captured everything diana stood for and represents: empathy and love.