Lizzie(2018 film)

This article is about the 2018 filmLizzie,about the life ofLizzie Borden.For the 1957 film starringEleanor Parkeras a woman with three personalities andRichard Booneas the psychiatrist who helps her, seeLizzie (1957 film).

Lizzieis a 2018 Americanbiographicalthriller filmdirected byCraig William Macneill,written by Bryce Kass, and starringChloë Sevigny,Kristen Stewart,Jay Huguley,Jamey Sheridan,Fiona Shaw,Kim Dickens,Denis O'Hare,andJeff Perry.It is based on the true story ofLizzie Borden,who was accused and acquitted of theaxe murdersof her father and stepmother inFall River,Massachusetts,in 1892. Sevigny also served as a co-producer.

Lizzie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Craig William Macneill
Written by	Bryce Kass
Produced by	Naomi Despres Elizabeth Destro Chloë Sevigny
Starring	Chloë Sevigny Kristen Stewart Jay Huguley Jamey Sheridan Fiona Shaw Kim Dickens Denis O'Hare Jeff Perry
Cinematography	Noah Greenberg
Edited by	Abbi Jutkowitz
Music by	Jeff Russo
Production companies	Artina Films Destro Films Powder Hound Pictures The Solution Entertainment Group
Distributed by	Saban Films Roadside Attractions
Release dates	January 19, 2018(2018-01-19)(Sundance) September 14, 2018(2018-09-14)(United States) December 14, 2018(2018-12-14)(United Kingdom)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$844,786

The film had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festivalon January 19, 2018. It was released on September 14, 2018, bySaban FilmsandRoadside Attractions.

Plot

In 1892Fall River, Massachusetts,32-year-oldLizzie Bordenresides with her domineering father, Andrew; stepmother, Abby, and elder sister, Emma. While the Borden family are prominent members of the community, Lizzie's day-to-day life is under the strict control of her father. One day, anIrishimmigrant, Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan, moves into the Borden residence to work as a servant. That night, Lizzie attends an opera and has aseizureduring the performance. After she recovers, she and Bridget quickly form a close bond as Lizzie attempts to give the illiterate Bridget a formal education.

On several occasions, the household is disrupted by trespassers and written threats, which Lizzie believes are connected to her father's recent acquisition of land. Lizzie overhears a discussion between her father and her uncle John, the townconstableand brother of Lizzie and Emma's deceased mother, during which Andrew imparts that his estate will be bestowed on Abby rather than his daughters. The next morning, Lizzie raids Abby's jewelrycasketand hawks its contents at a localpawnbroker.Enraged by the robbery, Andrew kills Lizzie's pet pigeons, which he has Bridget prepare for dinner. One morning, Bridget becomes distraught after receiving a letter from Ireland disclosing her mother's death. Late that night, Lizzie hears her father sexually assaulting Bridget in the attic servants' quarters. Lizzie smashes a hand mirror in her bedroom and sprinkles the glass at Bridget's door, causing Andrew to cut his feet when leaving.

Lizzie and Bridget's bond grows increasingly close, and with Bridget able to write, the two leave letters for one another around the house. Their relationship eventually becomes romantic. Lizzie also discovers that her Uncle John has been leaving threatening notes; when she confronts him about them, he assaults her, which Bridget witnesses. One afternoon, Andrew spies Lizzie and Bridget having sex in the barn. He later calls Lizzie an abomination and forbids her from associating with Bridget, whom he intends to dismiss. That night, Lizzie burns her father'swillon the kitchen stove. The next day, August 4, Andrew and Abby's bodies are found in the house, both bludgeoned with ahatchet.Law enforcement swiftly suspects Lizzie is responsible, though Emma proclaims her sister's innocence. Lizzie is formally charged with both murders and stands aclosed trial.Bridget visits Lizzie in jail and asks her to cease all contact before boarding a train toMontana.

A climactic flashback shows both Lizzie and Bridget carrying out the murders: That morning, Lizzie strips nude and hides in Abby's bedroom while Andrew goes for his morning walk. Bridget brings Abby a doctored telegram notifying her of a friend's illness. When Abby rushes to her room to prepare to leave, Lizzie bludgeons her multiple times in the face and head with a hatchet. Bridget, outside washing windows, is sickened by the sounds and vomits. Lizzie cleans herself and redresses. When Andrew returns, Lizzie tells him she is going outside to pick fruit. Meanwhile, Bridget undresses and confronts Andrew in the den, armed with a hatchet, but hesitates. Lizzie re-enters the house, takes the hatchet from Bridget, and kills Andrew herself. Afterwards, Lizzie butchers a pigeon with the murder weapon, smearing it with the bird's blood before sawing off the blade and hiding it in a pail in the basement. She then burns the handle and her blood-spattered dress on the kitchen stove.

Lizzie is ultimately acquitted of the murders and lives the remainder of her life in Fall River, ostracized by the community and estranged from Emma. She dies at age 66 and leaves the majority of her estate to the localhumane society.Bridget remains in Montana for the rest of her life where she eventually dies, aged 82.

Cast

• Chloë SevignyasLizzie Borden,Emma's sister, Abby's stepdaughter, and Andrew's daughter.
• Kristen Stewartas Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan,a housemaid and Lizzie's lover.
• Jay HuguleyasWilliam Henry Moody,prosecutor.
• Fiona Shawas Abby Borden,Andrew's wife and Emma and Lizzie's stepmother.
• Jamey Sheridanas Andrew Borden,Emma and Lizzie's father, Abby's husband.
• Kim Dickensas Emma Borden,Lizzie's sister, Abby's stepdaughter and Andrew's daughter.
• Denis O'Hareas John Morse,Emma and Lizzie's maternal uncle.
• Jeff Perryas Andrew Jennings,Lizzie's defense attorney.

Production

On October 28, 2015, it was announced thatChloë SevignyandKristen Stewarthad been cast in an as yet untitled film aboutLizzie Borden,with Pieter Van Hees to direct from a script by Bryce Kass.Sevigny was cast to play Borden, with Stewart playing her live-in maid Bridget Sullivan. The film's producer would be Naomi Despres, withPlaytoneexecutive producing.On May 12, 2016,Craig William Macneillcame on board to direct the film.

On November 10, 2016,Jay Huguleywas cast in the film to playWilliam Henry Moody,the prosecuting attorney in the case.Elizabeth Destrowas also producing the film through Destro Films, along with Despres through Artina Films, and Sevigny with Josh Bachove co-producing, and the film would be financed by Elizabeth Stillwell and Roxanne Anderson through Powder Hound Pictures andIngenious Media.Fiona Shaw,Jamey Sheridan,Kim Dickens,Denis O'Hare,andJeff Perrywere also cast in the film.

Principal photographyon the film began on November 14, 2016, inSavannah,Georgia,and it wrapped on December 16, 2016.

Release

The film had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festivalon January 19, 2018.Saban Films, in partnership withRoadside Attractions,acquired North American rights with plans to release the film during the summer.It was released theatrically in the United States on September 14, 2018.

Reception

Box office

The film earned $47,580 during its opening weekend of September 14–16, 2018 in the United States, screening in four theaters.The film expanded to 240 screens the following week, September 21.It went on to gross a total of $642,157 in the United States.

Critical response

On review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 152 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Lizzieforces audiences to take a new look at a widely known true-crime story -- even if the well-acted end result is never quite as gripping as it could be. "OnMetacritic,which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Katie Walsh of theLos Angeles Timesnoted that the film possesses a "sense of serious studiousness" and praised its sound design, adding of Sevigny: "The respect for Lizzie means that film almost denies drama, rendering some moments almost inert. It could use an operatic high note, or even a truly deep dark night of the soul, some oscillation in the levels. But the film reflects the evenness with which Sevigny portrays the unflappable Lizzie, cool as a cucumber all the way to court. That control never betrays her or belies an inconvenient truth, and Sevigny's steadiness is almost unnerving."Michael O'Sullivan ofThe Washington Postsimilarly wrote that Sevigny "is something of a closed book, delivering a stolid performance that can be read as either strong-willed or stonyhearted."

Jeannette Catsoulis ofThe New York Timesnamed the movie a Critic's Pick and praised the direction as "focused," and wrote that Ms. Sevigny's intelligence and formidable control keep the melodrama grounded. Her empathy for Borden, whose fragile constitution belies a searing will, is palpable, as is the sense of inescapable peril surrounding the two female leads. "InVariety,Amy Nicholson praised Noah Greenberg's cinematography as "stunning. He frames his actresses with the house, shooting them in shallow focus behind windows and railings to make them look like prisoners. In this airless, dim darkness, they rarely look free."Leslie Felperin ofThe Hollywood Reportersummarized the film as "elegantly lurid but compelling," also praising Greenberg's cinematography and Sevigny's performance and commenting that Kass’ well-researched script concentrates less on how and more on why. He commendably takes time to elucidate how much the family strife was based on power struggles over money, a factor as motivating as desire, disgust and a thirst for revenge. At the same time, not everything is spelled out too literally, and both the screenplay and Macneill’s sensitive direction leave it to the lead actors to fill in the foreground colors.Henry Stewart ofSlant Magazineawarded the film three out of four stars, writing: "The film moves evenly toward a conclusion that feels as inevitable as it does inescapable, while providing a plausible framework for the still-mysterious true crime—even if the script contains a few too many applaudably feminist lines of dialogue. The murders—deliberate, erotic, and unhinged—are withheld until the end,In Cold Blood-style, after we’ve seen bits of testimonies at trial. It's an appropriately harrowing cap to this bleak, haunted, sad, and gruesome story of forbidden romance and its blood-soaked consequences. "

The New York Times'chief film criticManohla DargisincludedLizziein her top films of 2018 year-end honor roll list.

See also

• The Legend of Lizzie Borden
• Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
• The Lizzie Borden Chronicles

External links

• Official website
• LizzieatIMDb
• LizzieatAllMovie
• Lizzieat theTCM Movie Database
• LizzieatMetacritic
• LizzieatRotten Tomatoes