Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Lizzie Blu-ray Movie Review

Axed and answered.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 19, 2018

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

Did she or didn’t she? That’s what the “legend of Lizzie Borden” basically boils down to when you get right to it, and in that regard, Lizzie may pretend to play its revelations close to its veritable vest, for a while at least, before going for the gusto in a viscerally disturbing murder sequence (note I’m not saying who the murderer is — though spoiler-phobes had best not read much further). While according to the sole supplement included on this Blu-ray release as a bonus feature star and executive producer Chloë Sevigny has evidently been developing this property for years, and hired her personal friend Bryce Kass to write the screenplay, the film offers a hypothesis that in doing some background research for this review sounds pretty much identical to one mystery writer Ed McBain proffered several years ago in a book bearing exactly the same name as this film, but which is not given any sort of credit in the film. That said, there have been a number of hypotheses presented over the years for what happened that unusually hot day of August 4, 1892, and Lizzie Borden's claim to infamy has of course been treated in various screen adaptations previously, not to mention a number of other kind of intriguing media like ballet and opera.

An almost dreamlike sequence begins the film, and returns intermittently as a brief interstitial thereafter, showing Lizzie (Chloë Sevigny) walking toward the Borden family house on a beautiful summer day, going inside, and then screaming. Interestingly, as with so much else about both the real life escapade and this particular dramatization of it, whether or not this actually happened is ultimately a matter up for debate. The film backtracks several months to find the arrival of new housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart) at the stuffy and dark Borden home, who is met with some seemingly almost genetic opprobrium by Mrs. Borden, Abby (Fiona Shaw). In a kind of shocking aside Abby lets Bridget know that Bridget will henceforth be known as “Maggie”, since that was evidently the generic name given to servants of Irish descent. Lizzie seems much more kindly disposed toward Bridget (whom she calls Bridget), setting up one of the roiling dynamics of the film's interwoven relationships.

It soon becomes apparent that both Abby and Mr. Borden, Andrew (Jamey Sheridan), are "control freaks" in their own ways, and that control of Lizzie particularly seems to be paramount on Andrew's mind. Lizzie is in her thirties, probably past the time she would have been seen as "marriageable", and she also has some health issues that play tangentially into things, and there's a palpable sense of Lizzie feeling trapped in her parents' home. The fact that Abby is a stepparent probably plays into things as well, but some of the most telling sparring actually goes on between Lizzie and Andrew, as the two kind of skirmish in a not exactly subtle play for power. Things go from "merely" verbal to at least tangentially physical (Andrew goes after something of value to Lizzie), with the result that Lizzie's frustrations mount exponentially. Andrew is shown to be something of a sleaze in other areas as well, coming on to Bridget in a discomfiting development (with Andrew adding insult to injury by calling Bridget Maggie).

Suffice it to say that Lizzie and Bridget begin to have “illicit” feelings for each other, and that ultimately both of them desire escape in their own way. That escape is perhaps made more pressing by Andrew’s attempts to marry Lizzie off to the less than desirable John Morse (Denis O’Hare). Things build to that aforementioned shocking murder scene, where (and here is one major spoiler, so look away now if you’re concerned) in a rather ironic moment for a character who chafes against society’s strictures, Lizzie strips naked to do the dirty deed (it’s a choice made for obvious evidence hiding reasons, but it sure seems to have a potent psychological subtext). Bridget’s involvement is depicted as at least somewhat more ambiguous, but there’s little doubt about at least some of her intentions.

While the underlying murders of the Borden story are gruesome and horrifying, no doubt one major reason they continue to fascinate to this day, Lizzie seems to want to be more of a psychological examination than a horror outing, which is in its own way perhaps commendable. But the film is awfully sluggish in depicting either Lizzie’s interior dilemmas or the shocking aspects of two people being hacked to death with a hatchet. This is an often incredibly handsome film from a production standpoint, and the performances are uniformly interesting, but there’s a static quality to this presentation that keeps it from achieving much emotional content, either in terms of the horror of two (frankly despicable) people meeting their fates, or the horror of women trapped in a societal system that wants to decree who they are and how they should behave.

Lizzie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lizzie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The closing credits crawl helpfully offer Arri and Alexa logos, a technical aspect the IMDb confirms, while also stating that everything was finished at a 2K DI. Stylistically this is kind of an interesting looking film, though the fact that (as is mentioned overtly in the film) Andrew Borden eschewed "modern" luxuries like indoor plumbing and (most saliently) electric lighting mean that large portions of this film are (supposedly) naturally lit, and as a result fine detail levels are somewhat variable. There's also a tendency to offer what I assume is kind of intentionally skewed contrast, leading to hazy overlays in several moments (see screenshots 12 and 18 for just two examples). The palette is somewhat desaturated for the most part, with only one or two passing moments offering colors that really pop vividly.

Lizzie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lizzie's sound design really doesn't offer a ton of immersive possibilities, and as such surround activity tends to come in fits and starts, often due to Jeff Russo's plaintive score or background noises in scenes like the trial sequences. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this track, and there's fine fidelity throughout, but there's simply not a lot of what I'd term "wow" factor in this audio presentation, as competent as it is in all regards.

Lizzie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Understanding Lizzie (1080p; 10:31) is pretty standard EPK fare, though it does have some decent interviews (that said, it's a little odd that Kristen Stewart is represented only via voice recordings).

Lizzie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

So, did she or didn't she? Lizzie purports to have the answer, but the film is curiously distant from its seemingly inherently visceral subject matter. Performances are riveting for the most part, and the film is rather nicely handsome from a production standpoint, but there's little to no emotional impact. Technical merits are fine for those considering a purchase.