Lizzie

Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart captivate in this bodice-ripping retelling of the strange and fascinating case of Lizzie Borden.

In 1892, unmarried Lizzie Borden (Sevigny) lives a repressed existence under the iron rule of her authoritarian father, whom she often enrages with her proud resistance. When new housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Stewart) comes to work at the Borden house, Lizzie finds in her a friend and confidante. But as secret romance blossoms, familial tensions continue to loom, with violent consequences.

With his striking debut The Boy (2015), Craig William Macneill proved himself a master of slow-burn dread. He brings that same claustrophobic foreboding to this very different kind of horror story. More than a simple retelling of a much-documented case, Lizzie neatly reframes Borden from axe-wielding monster to victim taking revenge, brutally attacking the patriarchal world that subjugates her. Macneill’s take on a true crime sensation poses a portrait of Lizzie Borden for the modern day.