Lizzie

Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny in Lizzie

Craig William Macneill's Lizzie, from 2018, is among the best acted and written unsuccessful movies I have seen. Kristen Stewart, Chloe Sevigny, Fiona Shaw, Kim Dickens, and Dennis O'Hare all do first rate work. I particularly appreciated Stewart's subservient manner and posture throughout, totally appropriate for the role of the Irish servant, Bridget. Sevigny is not as gifted a performer, but Macneill utilizes her sullen taciturnity well to hint at the seething resentments bubbling within the notorious Lizzie Borden. Best of all is Jamey Sheridan as Lizzy's doomed Pa, a stony embodiment of the sins of the patriarchy.

Bryce Kass' script cannily balances the facts of the Borden case with speculation on whodunit and how. Whether Lizzie did it or not, she certainly had motivation. The script does do a good job of conveying the oppressive atmosphere of the Borden household and the economic hold their father had over the Borden sisters. The rigid class distinctions of the era are included unostentatiously. Kass adds abuse of Bridget by the paterfamilias and a sapphic bond between Lizzie and Bridget. The latter was first bruited by Ed McBain in his 1984 novel, Lizzie. Kass also cribs the murder in the buff aspect from the 1975 television film, The Legend of Lizzie Borden. 

That film is a good counterpoint to Lizzie. Directed by the underrated Paul Wendkos, the 1975 film is a lurid shocker with adequate performances and a palpable sense of unease. The film was released in an extended version abroad with more footage of nekkid star Elizabeth Montgomery whacking away at her father and step-mother and then having a nice tidy up. It was, in other words a high-toned exploitation picture, but it was mindful of that fact and, at least, had a pulse.

Elizabeth Montgomery and friend in The Legend of Lizzie Borden

Lizzie, on the other hand, is so intent on being realistic that it is, ironically, drained of life. The visual palette resembles that of a Rejuvenation Hardware ad. There are no memorable images in the film, it just sits there and the actors talk. It is not a heinous or particularly bad film, just a dull one. Macneill has mastered his craft, but has displayed little showmanship or personality in either this film or his 2015 feature, The Boy.