In a revealing interview with the Huffington Post, ChloĂ« Sevigny said sheâd hoped Lizzieâthe new film in which she portrays Lizzie Borden, who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an ax in 1892 Massachusettsâwould be a ârousing, smash-the-patriarchy piece,â and admitted that director Craig William Macneillâs final product isnât what sheâd imagined.
Building off the wealthy familyâs battle over inheritances and the rumor that Borden killed her parents after they discovered her relationship with the Irish maid Brigid (Kristen Stewart), Lizzie tries to find the seemingly impossible balance between family drama, murder mystery, and queer romance. Though itâs a compelling idea, it doesnât workâthe forbidden love story isnât fleshed out enough for that motive to be believable. And in 2018, when depictions of queer romance are just starting to get mainstream attention with films like Moonlight and Call Me by Your Name, Iâm not sure this hypothetical lesbian link to a grisly murder is really necessary.
Itâs valuable to reexamine history with the knowledge that women werenât always granted the opportunity to tell their own stories, but Lizzie is more like a rogue spitballing session that reframes Bordenâs infamous crime as a justifiable rebellion against injustice.
Lizzie opens Fri Sept 21. Movie times here!
Read more of the Mercuryâs award-winning* movie and TV coverage here!
*not actually award-winning