Lizzie Borden is a fascinating character to read about, especially considering so little is known about her personally. Oh, there’s plenty of details about her life after the infamous murders of her father and step-mother but none of that paints any detail into who she really was. Details about her life prior to the murders are even more scarce, filled with a lot of speculation. There are a number of books and films made about her and all of them have a specific mind-set over who really killed Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife Abby Durfee Gray and, while it’s fun to speculate, we will never really know what actually happened on that day in 1892 nor what led up to it.
In 2014 The Lifetime Network released a movie about the Lizzie Borden story, titling their film after the nursery rhyme children sang in the school yard, Lizzie Blrden Took an Ax. This version dismisses any of the other possible suspects and plants the blame firmly on Lizzie herself. Lizzie is painted as a manipulator and a thief, stealing money out of Abby’s purse as well as shoplifting from a dress store. She also uses her sexuality to make her father uncomfortable around her. The actual murders take place relatively early on in the film with the bulk of the film being the investigation and subsequent trial. Several obvious avenues of prosecution were not used and Lizzie was found not guilty. In the real world there was always speculation that Lizzie committed the murders but the movie spells it out, even showing exactly how it was supposedly done.
This film is no substitute for researching the true events any more than any docudrama is. Artistic license and speculation rule the day here and many facts are either glossed over or ignored entirely. There was speculation that Andrew may have molested Lizzie as she was growing up but such things were not investigated back then let alone any possibility of forensic evidence to back up such an accusation. Tension in the household over Andrew gifting land and homes to members of Abby’s family are addressed in the film but only in passing. The existence of William, a self-proclaimed illegitimate child of Andrew’s seeking a percentage of the family fortune is not ever addressed here. This would be rectified in the mini-series that came later, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles.
Christina Ricci stands out amongst her cast-mates as being perfectly cast in the title role. She plays both sides of the coin with an uncanny knack for realism. It is an unnerving performance in that it shows just how vulnerable a façade Lizzie erected in public. When the prosecution is badgering her to tears we get a brief glimpse of her murderous hatred as she glances over her shoulder at him. This is a woman feigning her sorrow and doing a darn good job at it. It is obvious while watching her in this role that she relished the opportunity to play this character and is giving it her all.
Clea DuVall is equally good as the sister Emma. Clea would also reprise her role in the mini-series and is fine in that show but it is much more effective here in the more confined setting of a movie. Emma stands by her sister, even lying on the witness stand to protect her. When Lizzie burns the dress the prosecution wants to examine for signs of blood, Emma opposes the act but will later lie to the court about the circumstances of it. Emma will continue to protect her sister right up until Lizzie tells her flat out that she did it and how it was done. This news destroys Emma and she leaves, never to see Lizzie again. This plot point, told in print on the screen just before the credits roll, gets completely dropped when the mini-series comes out. In that series the two sisters stay together much longer while Lizzie continues to kill people. None of that happened in real life and none of it happens in this film.
This is a straight forward telling of the Lizzie Borden story albeit with the mystery “solved” for us. Did Lizzie Borden really kill Andrew and Abby on that fateful morning of August 4, 1892? Probably. But there was not enough evidence to back up the case and she was acquitted. This film affirms that she was not only guilty but crafty and malicious. It postulates that she was not in a fugue state, unaware of what she was doing the way some historians suppose but that she planned things out and had carefully thought out lies to cover up her involvement in the deaths. We will never know for sure what actually happened and how but the way this film presents the case we can safely say it might have happened this way.
Release Date: January 25, 2014
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Rated TV-16+
Starring: Christina Ricci, Clea DuVall and Billy Campbell
Directed By: Nick Gomez
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