Movie Review: Lizzie Borden Took An Axe

"Lizzie Borden Took An Axe" is a made for television movie that appeared on the Lifetime channel on 1/25. It stars Christina Ricci and Clea Duvall. This was undoubtedly the OJ Simpson trial of the 1890's. We all already know the story so there's no reason to go through the specifics again here. I a new found appreciate for Christina Ricci's acting abilities. She hit it out of the park and looked smashing while doing it.

Although I shouldn't say this about such a macabre real life event, the show was a lot of fun to watch. The costumes, acting, and sets were great. The use of current music gives the show a very different feel (although I know some people said it drove them crazy).

Quotable quotes (and of course they're all from Lizzie):

"Aren't you a Sunday School teacher?" (party guest). "Only on Sundays." (Lizzie)
"Father is dead. Someone came in and killed him.
"I just wish I had the freedom to live the life I've always imagined"
"I dont want to look like a killer"
"I loved him like any daughter would love her father"
"I cleaned out the coup and ate three pears". When backed into a corner by the prosecution, the pear defense is always a good fallback.
"I had no idea we could fit so many people in this house"

I have no idea if Lizzie really killed her parents or not. It would be interesting though to see how she fared in today's judicial system. We still have a hard time thinking women could commit such heinous crimes but aren't quite as naive as they were back then. For details on the real life crime check out: