“He said from the start, it’s a fairytale (turned) upside down. In their initial talks about “Spencer,” Mathon said the director was interested in “something much larger and (more) timeless” than Christmas with the royals: an exploration of what lies behind life-changing decisions. Larrain approached the French cinematographer after watching her Caesar Award-winning work in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Mathon told CNN. Kristen Stewart as Diana appears set for a long and possibly fruitful awards season run, but doing her performance justice required the careful eye of Claire Mathon, one of the hottest cinematographers working right now. She, understandably, has other ideas, haunted by the women who have come before her (in more ways than one). Diana and Charles’ marriage is on the rocks and “ The Firm” is looking to her to right the ship over a Christmas feast or two.

Larrain’s horror-inflected movie announces itself as a “fable from a true tragedy,” imagining three days at the Queen’s Sandringham estate in 1991.

It’s both trite and an understatement to say the royal family has never looked quite like this before.

Stalked by my doctor plot