Christina Ricci is effective in the role of the infamous Lizzy Borden, who was suspected and tried in the 1892 ax murders of her father and step-mother. She was ultimately acquitted, but people at the time and even today believe she got away with a brutal and grotesque crime.
This made-for-cable movie is faithful to known historical facts about the woman and the murder case, and dramatizes the story well. The approach of the production pivots around Ricci's performance, and she was well cast in this role. She has always been strong with off-center characters, and portrays the suspected murderess with a subdued power. You can almost see a violent conflict inside her burning just beneath the surface each time she's on screen. The image is one of a woman that is plotting, and concocting a lie every moment.
The biggest negative is the appallingly out of place soundtrack of rock music. Whoever is responsible for this should get 40 whacks from Lizzie's ax.
The rest of the cast interact with Ricci very well, and the late Victorian era setting is convincing. That dark-humor jump-rope rhyme that mocked Borden might be hard to get out of your head afterward.
This made-for-cable movie is faithful to known historical facts about the woman and the murder case, and dramatizes the story well. The approach of the production pivots around Ricci's performance, and she was well cast in this role. She has always been strong with off-center characters, and portrays the suspected murderess with a subdued power. You can almost see a violent conflict inside her burning just beneath the surface each time she's on screen. The image is one of a woman that is plotting, and concocting a lie every moment.
The biggest negative is the appallingly out of place soundtrack of rock music. Whoever is responsible for this should get 40 whacks from Lizzie's ax.
The rest of the cast interact with Ricci very well, and the late Victorian era setting is convincing. That dark-humor jump-rope rhyme that mocked Borden might be hard to get out of your head afterward.