Shirley
(NEON/Hulu)
By Lucas Allen
In February, Elisabeth Moss delivered a career-high performance in Blumhouse’s adaptation of “The Invisible Man.” This time, she’s doubling her Oscar chances in another powerhouse portrayal of unhinged energy in her new drama “Shirley.”
Based on a 2014 novel by Susan Scarf Merrell, it’s not simply a biopic of author Shirley Jackson ,who’s more well known for her horror novel The Haunting of Hill House, but it’s a fictionalized novel about her eccentric personality affecting a young couple’s life.
In 1949 Vermont, married couple Fred (Logan Lerman) and Rose Nemser (Odessa Young) moved to the home of professor Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his reclusive wife Shirley Jackson (Moss). Fred takes a job as the professor’s teaching assistant that’s meant to be temporary, but Hyman insists they stay longer so that Rose can take care of his wife during the day. Rose begins to see how the author works on her stories despite how she acts toward her with her drunken stupor and unpredictable behavior. Despite her objections to that kind of behavior, the young woman is soon drawn to her world in an unexpected way.
Jackson has also been working on her new story, “Hangsaman,” that’s inspired by the disappearance of a young woman from her husband’s college. Rose soon helps her with her creative energy along with gaining the courage to step out of her comfort zone. But the more the young woman is in the author’s mind space, the more she finds herself finding secrets she’s not prepared to face.
This movie isn’t conventional drama, but it’s the kind of film that grabs you right from the first scene. It’s an audacious drama filled with visual splendor and stylized straight out of a 1970s docudrama that doesn’t limit its filmmaking ambition. With a small cast, the filmmakers used everything in their disposal to create a stunning experience in a small setting. In spite of its fictional material, it does shine a light on the author’s reclusive life and brilliant imagination that becomes a fascinating odyssey through success and depression.
The cinematography looks splendid, with detail brought to life by the choices the filmmakers made in lighting the sets. It also helps bring out the color in the art direction with the interior designs have an old-style painting look that wonderfully matches the period setting. The camerawork also enhances the film’s quality, while the editing is nicely handled to keep your eyes glued to the actors. Some viewers may find the movie strange to watch, but that unusual quality fits well into the movie’s tone.
Moss naturally dominates all her scenes with intense clarity and her creepy staredowns with the other actors. After starring in The Handmaid’s Tale, one might wonder if it’s becoming a career move for her to play mentally broken characters pretty well. Young is also great as a character stuck on a fine line between normalcy and insanity during her personal journey in the film. As for Stuhlbarg and Lerman, each of them does fine work supporting the story in some capacity.
“Shirley” is exceptionally trippy and magnificently illustrated as a story about being in a writer’s thinking space. The unusual tone and drama give it a great edge over other titles being released during this pandemic. If you have a Hulu account, then put yourself in a relaxing state of mind and enjoy the amazement.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for sexual content, nudity, language, and brief disturbing images)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 4 Stars (Out of Four)
