Film Review: "Lizzie" (2018)

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*Get Blood in Fall River: The Complete Biography of Lizzie Borden by John M. Woodward on Amazon here*
*Get The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller on Amazon here*

Chloe Sevigny shines as the infamous Lizzie Borden in a film that reminded me of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

Lizzie (Chloe Sevigny), her sister Emma (Kim Dickens), and their father Andrew (Jamie Sheridan) and stepmother Abby (Fiona Shaw) live in a small house in Fall River, Massachusetts. They hire on Irish housemaid Bridget (Kristen Stewart), who the parents insist on calling Maggie. The household is in a constant state of tension, as Andrew tries to keep order but Lizzie often acts out like a repressed teenager. She and Bridget grow closer, despite Andrew's nighttime visits to Bridget's small room, and soon the new couple are pushed too far by the overbearing parental figures.

Knowing the basics of the Lizzie Borden case, the film contains many historical inaccuracies and the Savannah, Georgia location filming is all wrong. The strength of the film lies in its performances and direction. While Stewart's accent comes and goes as many times as Bridget meekly enters a room, Sevigny anchors the film with her strong performance. Her Lizzie puts up a strong facade that is easily shattered when confronted. The house is a prison of sorts to Lizzie and Emma, who are both trapped in societal expectations, expectations that may have contributed to Lizzie's not guilty verdict when she was tried on the charges of double murder. I've loved Shaw since "Mountains of the Moon," and she does a lot with her character. Although second billed, Stewart doesn't try to hog the film from Sevigny, and the two have a very halting chemistry just like their characters do. Sheridan is good as Andrew, if not a little to modern looking- I would have liked to see a full beard just like the original Andrew Borden had. Denis O'Hare is menacing as the women's ne'er-do-well uncle.

One piece of sound design/set decoration is the constantly creaking floors of the Borden house. No one can "sneak" around anywhere without being heard or overheard, and there are many quiet scenes where all you can listen to is creaking. Director Macneill also frames his film differently. There are many obscured shots, as panes of glass are opaque and distort what is being seen. I would have liked to see more background on Bridget, and a few scenes ring false, but I enjoyed the underwhelming sense of dread (I mean that in a good way) that develops without the use of jump scares or obvious foreshadowing. The violence in the film is brutal, the murders have become the thing of jokes today. Other reviews I read highlighted the nudity and sexual relationship between Lizzie and Bridget, forgetting that two people being bludgeoned to death with a hatchet isn't exactly fun. Kudos to Jeff Russo's careful score and the natural but unpretty cinematography.

Lizzie Borden's maybe-murders will probably never be solved. Over a century has passed, and there isn't any cold case DNA testing to do. Instead, we get quite a few dramatizations and murder mystery parties at the site of the original murders, which is now a bed and breakfast. "Lizzie" is one of the better, serious efforts to tell the stories of the murders, once Kristen Stewart fans get past her presence onscreen; the film isn't called "Bridget," after all.

Stats:
-(2018) 105 min. (8/10)
-Directed by Craig William Macneill
-Written by Bryce Kass
-Cast: Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Jamie Sheridan, Fiona Shaw, Kim Dickens, Denis O'Hare, Jeff Perry, Tara Ochs, Daniel Wachs, Jody Matzer, Don Henderson Baker, Jay Huguley, Roscoe Sandlin
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)-(Aus: MA15+)- Physical violence, some sexual violence, strong gore, some profanity, nudity, some sexual content, mild sexual references, strong adult situations
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video Streaming