The Lizzie Borden Chronicles

Superb Series! It comes on too late for me to stay up and watch, so I record it and watch it the next evening. And, I plan to watch them over and over again. I love this Series, and unlike a few others, I love the Soundtrack. The music makes it fresher (more today). My only complaint (and hence the 9 stars instead of 10) is the camera jerking. It is done way too often for me. Hopefully this is not a one-season Series because I am so sick of reality TV I could scream. The cast, for the most part, is pretty terrific. As far as blood and gore, well - the Series is called The Lizzie Borden Chronicles after all. I had no prior knowledge of the Lizzie Borden case, so am not biased as to fact or otherwise, and just truly find this Series a much needed breath of fresh air for TV viewers. Please watch and help keep this Series on for years to come!

Although I was intrigued with the series and there were some nice psychological thriller / supernatural stirrings in the first episode, I quickly got bored of Christina Ricci's one dimensional acting. She seems to have only one setting: unreflective sociopath mode. The script would have benefited greatly from a more complex and nuanced character. Clea DuVall, playing Lizzie's sister Emma, has far more depth and subtlety. Meanwhile, all the bad men are unremittingly bad, cardboard cut-out villains. Cole Hauser's Siringo is suffering from a serious charisma deficit.

Although I'm not adverse to gore, it is being used instead of better scriptwriting as a way to segue into new scenes. It quickly started feeling like an obvious device. I found a lot of the dialogue far too modern. Again, Ricci's very flat, clipped delivery pulls it out of period.

Meanwhile, the props department should have done a better job with their historical research. The flashlight, used by Hauser in his exploration of the schoolhouse, was not invented until 1899 - when the dry cell battery became available.

All of these flaws would not have rendered the series unbearable. It was the soundtrack that fundamentally ruined it for me. There have been series and films that pair historical settings with contemporary music to excellent effect. The Knick (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2937900/?ref_=nv_sr_1) is set in basically the same time period and uses very atmospheric, very modern abstract electronic music throughout the series and manages to make it work superbly well. The choice of music for this series - both the incidental music that was over-dramatic and bombastic as well as the bits and pieces of contemporary rock - became a real distraction that served to distance me emotionally from the episodes. Especially the indie rock with vocals.

It feels like a low budget, Baz Lurman series with more gore and fewer Hollywood stars.

Ok, I'm exaggerating slightly. It may not be one of the greatest shows ever made, but I ended up absolutely loving it and have rewatched the entire season at least once or twice a year since it came out.

I originally went into this show blind, expecting it to be a more serious, realistic interpretation about what may have happened following the real Lizzie Borden's acquittal. It wasn't. At all. At first I was annoyed, especially as a true crime buff who has long been interested in the actual Borden case. I'm pretty sure I even said to the person I was watching it with, "What the hell is this s***?!"

Then it started to grow on me.

There's nothing realistic about it. It's completely off the wall crazy, campy, bizarre and hilarious. And it's beautiful. A sideways glance or cutting Lizzie in line at the local hairdresser would be enough to get you offed. There's no safety in numbers either, she'll kill you all.

Christina Ricci is absolutely brilliant as a murderous psychopath who you also end up rooting for. She plays Lizzie as both ruthless and vulnerable. She treats murder and body disposal as you would stopping at the grocery store or gas station. Just a routine errand.

In order to fully appreciate this show you really have to go into it with the right mind frame. If you go into it expecting a serious attempt at historical fiction or a high brow psychological thriller, you'll probably be disappointed.

If you go into it for some slasher fun and essentially watching the better looking, classier version of Jason Voorhees add to her body count, you'll probably love it.

This series has everything I love - period piece, based on a real person, Christina Ricci! It is lovely to look at with beautiful costumes - but they need to spend some of that costume money on script writers. There is almost no plot. Someone makes Lizzie angry - 5 minutes later she kills that person - over and over again. No mystery, no tension, just anger then death. Predictable and boring.

I adore Christina Ricci but she is just not right for this role. She is not believable as someone from this era. Her speech phrasing is modern as are her movements. I need to write more for this review but this is difficult because this show has so little substance to it. Perhaps I will mention how it's difficult to tell one male character from another because they all have reddish beards.

The plot started out well but I found the story grew over involved and dramatized to ridiculous lengths. I did not care for the choice of leading lady, Christina Ricci and felt she pulled away from the true character of a person who would be in that position by over dramatizing the character and the series would have faired well if the role had been played by someone who showed more emotion in their eyes and less threat of "constant in your face" attitude". I feel little effort was made. Her elements did not blend well. I did like the rest of the cast. I personally loved the music choices and felt the filming was done well despite some lengthy dark scenes. I thought Miss Duvall did an excellent job and fit the part. This is just my opinion. We are all entitled and the next persons opinion could be totally different. I lived with a person whose personality was flawed like Lizzies and they tend to see saw their personalities. This portrayal was too straight and narrow with little shift. If they do a new season, I hope she works on her part a little more. I know it was tough, but it was the leading role. Beauty only goes so far.