Shirley

Name: Shirley
Genre: Biography, Drama, Thriller
Released: June 5, 2020
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Adelind Horan, Allen McCullough, Ava Langford, Bisserat Tseggai, Edward O'Blenis

2020

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Generally favorable reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Neon | Release Date (Streaming): June 5, 2020 | R

Starring: Adelind Horan, Allen McCullough, Ava Langford, Bisserat Tseggai, Edward O'Blenis, Elisabeth Moss, Emily Decker, Logan Lerman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Molly Fahey, Odessa Young, Orlagh Cassidy, Paul O'Brien, Robert Wuhl, Ryan Spahn, Steve Vinovich, Thomas Racek, Tony Manna, Victoria Pedretti

Summary: Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails,Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.… Expand

Director: Josephine Decker

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 107 min

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Critic Reviews

Jenn Adams

Jun 4, 2020

Decker succeeds in transporting viewers inside the mind of a tortured genius. With its mesmerizing cinematography, a deliciously waspy script, and fantastic performances, Shirley is a smart and intricately woven look at a woman’s struggle to create in a world telling her to be something else. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Sheila O'Malley

Jun 3, 2020

Decker's visual style is as distinct as a fingerprint. She destabilizes images, focusing in on parts of it, rarely looking at things head on. The experience is sometimes like listening to music underwater, or trying to adjust the muscles in your eyes to read the fine print. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Jan 26, 2020

Decker’s characteristically sawtoothed and delirious new film is set in the same latent space between fact and fantasy — a story and its telling — where she located all of her previous work. Read full review

Kimberley Jones

Jun 4, 2020

Shirley is probably too niche to attract the Academy’s interest in Moss – how has she never been nominated? – but it’s a big, messy, masterfully itchy performance and yet another notch in her belt. Read full review

Ty Burr

Jun 4, 2020

By contrast, the undercard of Shirley is the bruising, scintillating war of wills between Jackson and her husband. Stanley Hyman was by all accounts a larger-than-life figure, and Stuhlbarg plays him with the exuberance of a clown and the insecurity of a bully. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

May 29, 2020

Director Decker (“Madeline’s Madeline”) folds in all the pieces of the plot almost haphazardly, and instead concentrates on character and mood — gloomy people mostly trapped in a gloomy house. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Jun 1, 2020

Shirley, by contrast, coats her in gothic excess as if glazing a ham, and of her humor scarcely a shred remains. As a sworn devotee of “Airplane!,” I found myself praying that once — just once — she would utter the words “And don’t call me Shirley,” thus rending the veil of gloom from top to bottom. Sadly, it was not to be. Read full review

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User Reviews

Deanomite

Jun 6, 2020

I have greatly admired Elizabeth Moss since she clawed her way up the ladder on Mad Men about a decade ago. I think she will go down as the next Bette Davis or Katherine Hepburn, seductive without being sexy. Her performances have a rhythm that pulls you in and gets you to hang for hurdlesI have greatly admired Elizabeth Moss since she clawed her way up the ladder on Mad Men about a decade ago. I think she will go down as the next Bette Davis or Katherine Hepburn, seductive without being sexy. Her performances have a rhythm that pulls you in and gets you to hang for hurdles that are both chronic and acute. As an example, at 1hr5min of this movie, she resolves to go a party in defiance of her philandering husband. Out of the blue she is forced to wrestle with agoraphobia in a way that is hilarious in a very subtle way. The next scene she is seductively exploring her own homosexuality, it is seamless in a way no other actor could attempt. the acting here is all solid, the photography is understated and the direction is extremely well done in an obscure non signature fashion. A very good movie.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

fra92

Jun 25, 2020

Elizabeth Moss shines in this incredible story about writing and womanhood. I really loved it, and I will watch again in cinemas!

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Scott92

Jun 25, 2020

Beautiful, visually stunning, incredibly acted. Loved it, and I recommend everyone its vision

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

TVJerry

Jun 13, 2020

Elisabeth Moss continues to expand her range as this cantankerous horror writer (based on Shirley Jackson). Her character is smart and verbally vicious, but also immensely troubled. When a young couple moves into their house, unusual things happen in several directions. This is primarily anElisabeth Moss continues to expand her range as this cantankerous horror writer (based on Shirley Jackson). Her character is smart and verbally vicious, but also immensely troubled. When a young couple moves into their house, unusual things happen in several directions. This is primarily an exercise in putting complex characters in uncomfortable situations. As the relationships evolve, the drama abounds. Director Josephine Decker has created moods and people who are sometimes compelling and other times just frustrating. It's an unusual character drama with Moss' performance creating the most interest.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Jun 13, 2020

I must start by saying that whoever put the thriller tag on this film should be fired right away.

Then the writers should reconsider how they could create such arrogant and pretentious characters. I hardly want to deal with those kinds of people in my daily life, let alone in a film. But II must start by saying that whoever put the thriller tag on this film should be fired right away.

Then the writers should reconsider how they could create such arrogant and pretentious characters.
I hardly want to deal with those kinds of people in my daily life, let alone in a film.
But I totally understand characters that behave like that and they definitely shouldn't create problems when watching a film, yet when they don't help the story to progress, it's quite clear that the interest in following them decreases considerably. And when the story is that inert, you have a big, big problem.

The issue is not that the performances are bad because they're not, especially that of Elisabeth Moss, the issue is that the characters are not really attractive.

I also read the film fictionalized a lot of what it portrays, but to be honest I can't say anything about that considering all I knew about Shirley Jackson is The Haunting of Hill House.

Shirley is a film that has ambition and talent but none of them fits in the best way and and while it could've been a much more disappointing film, it's far from what I expected due to the good reviews it received.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Brent_Marchant

Jun 13, 2020

An ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to do something different with the biopic genre as told through an episode in the life of enigmatic horror/mystery author Shirley Jackson. While the picture benefits from strong visuals and excellent performances by Michael Stuhlbarg, OdessaAn ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to do something different with the biopic genre as told through an episode in the life of enigmatic horror/mystery author Shirley Jackson. While the picture benefits from strong visuals and excellent performances by Michael Stuhlbarg, Odessa Young and, especially, Elisabeth Moss as the title character, director Josephine Decker raises far too many issues and introduces an excess of story threads that never quite tie together into a coherent, focused whole. That's unfortunate given the story's complex and colorful protagonist and its fine ensemble of supporting players. Judicious editing and a revamped screenplay would have worked wonders for this one. As it stands, however, "Shirley" represents a missed opportunity to tell a story as provocative and engaging as the subject it's profiling.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Stream2BigScree

Jun 20, 2020

Here's another weekend without a movie theater. There's still new content on demand and with streaming services. We finally got around to the new film on Hulu, Shirley, starring Elisabeth Moss as renowned writer, Shirley Jackson. Is Shirley as thrilling as Ms. Jackson's stories?

BiopicsHere's another weekend without a movie theater. There's still new content on demand and with streaming services. We finally got around to the new film on Hulu, Shirley, starring Elisabeth Moss as renowned writer, Shirley Jackson. Is Shirley as thrilling as Ms. Jackson's stories?

Biopics about writers can be difficult to make cinematic because the writing process is so internal. While Shirley is about the writer and the writing process, it is hardly a biopic in the normal sense. The film focuses on a young couple who move to the Vermont college town where Shirley and her husband Stanley, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, live. The young husband, Fred, played by Logan Lerman, has a position as Stanley's assistant, and the wife, Rose, played by Odette Young, plans to audit some courses at the school, but her plans change as Stanley needs someone to manage the home because Shirley cannot. The couple plans to stay with Stanley and Shirley temporarily until they find their own place. As Shirley's eccentric madness fills the home as she begins to work on her new novel, thrills ensue and consume Rose.

Josephine Decker, who directed Shirley, does a good job of balancing themes. There is a focus on the relationships between the husbands and wives that deteriorate due to selfishness and mistrust. The film depicts how those relationship can affect mental health, which becomes more important as the film moves along. The connection between Shirley's writing and her mental state permeate the movie and affect the characters in interesting ways. Sometimes it can get confusing, but I suppose that was the point. The film wants to feel like one of Shirley Jackson's stories, and there is something thrilling about it - to a point.

Aside from some confusion due to directorial choices, my biggest problem with Shirley is Elisabeth Moss. Moss is a good actress, but like many actors, she has a go-to bag of tricks when she plays her characters. That deep, crazed stare she has. She's got a tremble and a soft, calculated speaking voice. While I get that Shirley has mental issues and she's prickly, Moss's portrayal of her feels like a caricature. It is outsized and false. I wish she would have reined it in. Moss is particularly jarring when compared to Michael Stuhlbarg, who is very good but equally calculating as Stanley. The unfortunate part of this is that Moss's portrayal took me out of the movie completely.

Ultimately, if you like Shirley Jackson's writing, it may be interesting to see this slice of life biopic/thriller. The director attempted to create a movie that feels like a story written by Shirley; and, even though, it has its thrilling moments, the movie can be confusing and off-putting. Unfortunately, Moss's over-the-top acting pulls focus of the film and does a disservice to it overall.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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