Shirley - A Movie Review

I wonder what living with a horror author is like for a week.

Shirley is a 2020 film. A young couple stays with author Shirley Jackson and her husband for a week. A set of peculiar events and conversations happen. However, this visit helps inspire Shirley to write a new horror novel.

I didn’t know what Shirley was about until watching it. Writers should watch this film considering it centers around the topic. A darkly strange film, it wasn’t until halfway in that I discovered it was a film about the author Shirley Jackson.

You can always count on Elisabeth Moss for her portrayals of strange women. Moss’s performance kept me watching this film. While I have heard of Shirley Jackson and her novels, I was unaware of her personal life. This film highlighted her eccentric personality.

Having the opportunity to spend the week with the Jacksons, Odessa Young and Logan Lerman had the best reactions to everything happening. Their characters weren’t fleshed out much.

Michael Stahlberg also channeled a bizarre personality, unaware of what personal space means. Stahlberg and Moss were excellent together in their weird behavior, portraying a happy couple.

This film is entertaining because of the actors. A hand goes out to the actors. The acting is the best part of the whole film. Actors were invested in the film more than the whole story. They immersed themselves in all the facts to make authentic performances.

The story was unsure of what it wanted to be. For a moment (and the subtext was there), I thought the film was turning into a budding romance between the women. Each set of characters has a distinct dynamic that it;s hard to focus on one.

The tone slipped between an edgy thriller and a drama. It was very uneven, lacking a plot. This is not my definition of a biopic. I had no idea (and forgot) that this was a film about the author Shirley Jackson.

Often, the camera and editing spiral into a daze. Just like the script and the tone which is all over the place. The soundtrack was also bizarre in choices of music. Josephine Decker should have induced a better focus on the story. I wasn’t sure what I was watching at times. After watching, I researched facts on the actual Jackson.

In my research, I learned that the real Jacksons had children. Why make them childless in this portrayal of their lives? When illustrating films about real people, get the facts right! You’re portraying a movie about their life to people who have followed their history. It wasn’t involved at all in Jackson’s life, portraying an odd woman who could be any writer.

Shirley is an example of how not to direct a biopic. I thought it would have tributed t0 the late Jackson’s life in some way. I don’t feel like I know her. The film could have been loosely based on Jackson’s life. Why not do that? That way the film could have been something, instead of remaining grounded with little creative approach.

It lost my focus. I can see that the writers had an intriguing idea but never fully fleshed it out. Shirley could have been a more intricate film if writers drafted a more concise story together.

If you want to give Shirley a watch, find it on Hulu. Just know that it is not a biopic of the late Jackson’s life. It may not be for everyone, but fans of Shirley Jackson may find a liking in the film.