REVIEW
Lizzie
Stars: 3.0
Starring Chloë Sevigny, Kim Dickens, Fiona Shaw, Denis O'Hare, Jamey Sheridan, and Kristen Stewart
Written by Bryce Kass
Directed by Craig William Macneill
Runtime: 105 minutes
Rated: 14A for nudity and violence
Now playing at the Princess Theatre, 10337 82 Ave. in Edmonton
It’s a story from Massachusetts that I’ve known about since I was a kid, just as many northern Canadians have, I suspect. Maybe it all started with Sharon Pollock’s play Blood Relations premiering in Edmonton in 1980.
The only problem is that I didn't have all of the details correct about Lizzie Borden and how her parents came to their demise. There’s that awful children’s rhyme about an axe, and 40 whacks, all of the pop culture references that evolved out of that.
The thing is, she may or may not have actually killed her parents. The story of their troubled relationship has inspired plays and children's verses and other movies. The new movie Lizzie (written by Bryce Kass and directed by Craig William Macneill, all apparently based on the true story) offers a sombre and sensitive look into the personal life of Borden, who was the decidedly adult age of 32 at the time that her parents met their fates.
The year was 1892 and Lizzie (Chloë Sevigny) was not in an ideal situation. She was not a teenager though she was still living with her parents, Andrew (Jamey Sheridan) and Abby (Fiona Shaw). It was a strict household and Lizzie's sexuality might not have jived with their belief systems. It probably affected her social status, too, and many considered her to be an outcast . Regardless, she was living under her oppressive parents’ control, as the movie goes, and one’s imagination doesn’t have to stretch far to consider the lack of freedoms.
All that, and Lizzie suffers from episodes of seizures. Alas!
Things plod along miserably as they always do in the household until Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart) is hired to be the housemaid. Lizzie and Bridget recognize in each other what many would consider to be soulmates or at least true friends. There is also an attraction that they recognize, one which provides another layer of bricks to their relationship. Those bricks seem to take away from the relationship that Lizzie has with her parents, unfortunately. Andrew Borden does not have good boundaries with the new servant either.
I'm much reminded of the real life setting of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood: a respected household suddenly beset with explosive murder. In this sparse landscape, her sparse emotional connections to her family play a deep contrast to the intimate, warm connections that she has with the housemaid. Lizzie was the one who went to court to defend herself against the charges, though she eventually went free. Public opinion is another court, however ...
Sevigny is a really marvellous actress: talented and willing to take on challenging roles. She always excels in understated work and Lizzie is no exception. The real struggle that I had with this film was its pacing, which goes from snail-like to “molasses in January”-esque. It’s not that the story doesn’t warrant the attention to detail and the buildup to the bloody event itself. We do need to understand the circumstances and the ambiguity of what actually happened are elements that make for a compelling story. Maybe it’s just that the screenplay and the direction both needed a woman’s touch.
