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Rating: B
Lizzie
Everyone knows the tale of the famous murderess Lizzie Borden, or at least we know the superficial details of this gory tale. One day in 1892 Lizzie Bordon picked up an ax and brutally murdered her father and stepmother. This murder brought infamy to the Bordon name and due to the brutality of the crime, put this on the map to be talked about for generations. Audiences will not get a fresh look on the story and possibly some details they may not have known in the new film Lizzie starring Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart. Sevigny takes on the title role of Lizzie Bordon and Stewart plays Bridget Sullivan, the Borden's housemaid at the time of the incident. This movie paints a very dark motive for the killings as well as shedding some light on Lizzie's romantic life by showing an alleged affair between her and Bridget. The film takes us through the first couple weeks before the murder and until the trial convenes after. This film is definitely a side of the story you will probably not have heard before.
There is no denying the incredible talent from the cast in this film. This may be one of my favorite roles to see Chloe Sevigny play in a while. She is just a young woman who is trying to spread her wings in a time when it was really kind of hard to do that. She lives under her father's abusive thumb and is watching as her greedy and incredibly creepy uncle (played by Denis O'Hare) tries to slime his way into the role of the benefactor of their father's inheritance. She feels trapped in her life and like any caged animal eventually snaps. To only add fuel to the fire we introduce Bridget's character in the mix. Bridget who is so poor she is forced to take this job and deal with anything that may come along with it including being regularly sexually assaulted by Andrew Bordon (James Sheridan). Once Lizzie finds out about this it only gives her much more of a sense of urgency to do something about it. When she tries to comfort Bridget and surprising relationship forms between the two of them and that is the final spark needed to set the events of that infamous crime into motion. Both ladies play this film with such passion that it makes it easy to see why this movie was getting so much buzz at film festivals this year.
Despite the fact that you have heard this story before, we still recommend checking out Lizzie and taking in a few more details you may not have realized about this incident. We scored Lizzie with a solid B. While this may not be the most fast-paced movie, the building tension keeps you engaged since you know where all this is leading up to. It is like being on a roller coaster and going up that first hill. You know the world is about to drop out from under you at any second and with Lizzie it definitely does. Don't miss Lizzie when it hits theaters everything starting September 21st.