Shirley

I kept watching this movie to see if it would get any better. It didn't. I only gave it a five because for the most part the acting was good.

"Shirley" takes place soon after the publication of Jackson's piece of short fiction, "The Lottery", published in 1948. While both the novel and film adaptation of "Shirley" document aspects of the writer's life, the central narrative of Rose and Fred Nemser, a couple who moves into the writer's Bennington home, is completely fictional.

Elisabeth Moss who also was a producer stars as Shirley Jackson, rude, crude and inappropriate most times but successful as an author of horror stories. I can't say I really enjoyed this movie, Shirley and her husband were not very nice people. But Moss does a wonderful job in the role and it is good to know something about her life.

I watched it at home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped.

Young married couple Rose (Odessa Young) and Fred Nemser (Logan Lerman) arrive at Bennington College to start his job. She is taken with famous author Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss). Shirley's husband Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg) hires the young couple to keep their home.

The film is able to capture the instability of the various relationships but I had trouble zeroing in on the stakes for most of the movie. It's not until Shirley tells Rose the truth that some stakes are injected. Before that, the two marriages have different levels of dysfunction but it only threatens to reach other levels of dysfunction. For me, the movie meanders for the first two thirds and then blows down the door in the last act. There are better ways to build up the tension and the drama in a smoother way.

Based on a Book that Fantasizes about Real-Life Author Shirley Jackson, who Wrote 5 Novels and over 200 Short Stories.

Her most Famous Work is the Novel "The Haunting of Hill House" was made into a Feature Film Twice and a Mini-Series.

The First Film was"The Haunting" (1963) with Julie Harris.

As Stated, this is Not a Bio-Pic but has Elements of Shirley's Life that are True, like Her Marriage to Teacher (not Professor) and Literary Critic Stanley Hyman.

The Most Strikingly Real Thing about "Shirley" is Elizabeth Moss and Her Uncanny Transformation to the Appearance of the Real-Life Shirley.

She could be a Twin or a Clone, it is that Spot-On.

The Film is Interesting and Stylish Enough to Draw You in to the Story because it is Creepy and Haunting like the Author's Work.

And Again Moss is a Sight to Behold, Looking Like a Witch most of the Time and Acting just as Macabre.

The Rest of the Cast can Hardly Keep Up.

But are Given some Good Off-Beat Personas and Interactions with the Bizarre, Brilliant Shirley.

Just Don't Go Here to Acquire any Deep-Dive, although One can See the Similarities between the Real-Life and the Fictional Account.

Shirley Jackson Suffered Bouts of Amphetamine, Barbiturate, and Alcohol Abuse and was Over-Weight most of the Time.

Fans of the Author most Likely will Like this Peek at the Persona of Shirley Jackson.

Because it seems to Capture the Genius of a Gifted Talent's Struggle Against Who She Was and the Expected Conformity that was of Her Era.

All of that took a Toll on the Woman and She Died in Her Sleep of Heart-Failure at the Age of 48.

As other reviews mentioned, it's a slow burn with not much happening. It's really much better depicted as a slow drama, certainly not a thriller. The characters are very unlikeable and while that's often written by design, it does very little to drive the plot forward.