Institute History
Description
1892: Headstrong Lizzie Borden lives with her wealthy father, stepmother, and sister in Fall River, Massachusetts. Lizzie lovingly tends to her pet pigeons and is occasionally allowed out of her dimly lit, foreboding house, but otherwise lives under strict rules set by her domineering father. When her family hires live-in maid Bridget, an uneducated Irish immigrant, the two find kindred spirits in one another. Their friendship begins with covert communication and companionship that blossoms into an intimate relationship. Meanwhile, tension builds in the Borden household, and Lizzie’s claustrophobic existence becomes increasingly more oppressive and abusive, leading to its inevitable breaking point.
Director Craig William Macneill (whose short film Henley played at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival) and writer Bryce Kass champion feminism and sexuality as they craft a compelling psychological thriller based on the unsolved, much-speculated-about murders of the Borden parents. As Lizzie Borden, Chloë Sevigny delivers a performance defined by interiority, brimming with intelligence and simmering rage, and capturing more humanity than the notoriety that surrounds her would suggest.