25 years after her death, Princess Diana is everywhere: Stories of her life fill books and magazines, while TikTokkers reenact her famous biker shorts/pants combo every winter. Her years of paparazzi harassment are back in the limelight with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Exit from the royal family, while her tumultuous marriage and divorce were carefully close since Charles ascended the throne. And now, with Season 5 of Netflix’s hit TV series Crownit’s safe to say we’re in for another wave of Dianamania.
Not that the previous wave has really ended. Portraits of Princess Diana have appeared throughout film, television and stage. Naomi watts played her in the 2013 movie dianawhile Kristen Stewart was nominated for this year’s Oscar for she turned in Spencer. Emma Corrin captured Diana’s childhood vulnerability in Crownfourth seasonwon her a series of awards and Jeanna de Waal took on the lead role in Diana: A True Musical Story. Perhaps our fondness for the former Princess of Wales has gone too far with that.
But now, we’ve got a new description that tops any and all previous installments in the Diana Cinematic Universe (say now, if it’s still up for grabs). Yes, in the latest installment of Crown, Elizabeth Debicki, famous actress six feet three, taking the reins was an elderly Diana. And it is a amazing performance. From her weird hairstyle and eyeshadow to her protective chin, Debicki doesn’t just mimic a cultural icon; she becomes her.
Before diving into Debicki’s work, let’s step back a bit. Crown introduced Corrin’s teenage Diana in Season 4, which followed her budding relationship with Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor). After their wedding, Diana and Charles’ struggle attracted attention, especially Diana’s eating disorder and growing mental health problems. Corrin’s performance as Diana ranges from marital squabbles in the Australian outback to the excitement of being adored by a crowd, and between those extremes is time alone in the room. sleep or kitchen, stuffy and miserable.
In Season 5, Debicki made a clear effort to both build on Corrin’s performance and make the role her own. In the opening moments of the premiere episode, “Queen Victoria Syndrome,” counselors brief Diana about her and Charles’ (Dominic West’s) upcoming vacation to Italy, telling Diana that It is considered a “second honeymoon”. Diana barely said a word, instead looking up and down, hiding her mouth behind her fists. It was immediately apparent that Debicki had come to appreciate Diana’s mannerisms — and of course, that made her look strikingly like Diana, almost like a carbon copy.
But it’s the eyes that really sell it. With just a glance, Debicki’s Diana has said exactly what she feels about the term “second honeymoon”. Part of her thought it was ridiculous; Her marriage has been on the verge of death for some time. But there was a glint in her eyes, a glint that, when accompanied by a small smirk, showed that Diana still hoped she and Charles could find some way to make it better. this is successful.
It’s the great work of a master actress, and it only gets better from there. In “No Woman’s Land”, a season-ending episode about Diana’s life after her separation from Charles, Debicki lived at Diana’s house with a constant presence. Her best moments are when she is warmest, like when she talks to Prince William (Senan West) on the phone as if he were her best friend, or when she has a crush on Dr. Hasnat Khan (Humayun Saeed). But there’s a particular set of scenes in the episode that are particularly touching, in which Diana visits the patients in the hospital, just chatting and laughing with them. They are reminders of the real good Diana did, which we often look back on as a major aspect of her legacy. But here, Debicki performs these acts of kindness so naturally, you would think it was just another day for her.
She also captures Diana’s fleeting moments perfectly. In the penultimate episode, “Couple 31,” Diana and Charles meet for the first time after their messy divorce. Her body language is tight and protective as they chat about where their marriage went wrong, but she navigates the softer moments well, eventually opening up to Charles when they try to scramble some eggs for lunch. She put out a line—“Well, we’re divorced, so who cares!”—in a light, playful tone like a glimpse of who Diana is. used Okay.
And that’s how Debicki makes the role her own: She exists as both the Diana of the past and the Diana of the present. She’s not just a tearful mess, though she certainly has her sobbing moments and screaming bouts. While watching Crown, you feel as if Debicki has integrated Diana’s entire life, all her good and bad experiences into the role. Even if she has a bit of freedom with her interpretation, like in this case viral clip now are from Crownreenactment of Diana’s infamous BBC interviewDebicki delivers a lively performance.
This feels quite different from other recent Diana roles, especially by Kristin Stewart Spencer. Pablo Larraín’s psychological drama gives Stewart the freedom to enhance his feelings. Now, let me set the record right before the Twitter fight movie begins: I’m a fan of Stewart’s performance. But sometimes there’s a sense of imitation rather than embodiment, especially when she’s alone. With no one to work with, the parts of Stewart disrupt her role, and it’s clear that she’s playing Diana, not her. present Diana.
With so many styles to copy and iconic looks to recreate, playing Diana could be relatively doable. The difference for Debicki is that she got everything, as if she were Diana herself. Her performance alone made Season 5 of Crown worth the clock. And if you’re not sold on it, at least you’ll enjoy Debicki’s lofty heights.
Yes, it’s true: Debicki, meme-ified long because he’s 1.6m tall in real life but never shows his real height on screen, is final high permission! She’s a head taller than Charles, which is funny considering that the real Charles and Diana are the same height, and two of Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) would probably make a Debicki Diana. I think that’s how the math works.
