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Shirley

Tyler Harlow

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young, Logan Lerman, Michael Stuhlbarg

Director: Josephine Decker

Based on the novel "Shirley" by Susan Scarf Merrell

Hot off the publication of her short story "The Lottery", the reclusive and mentally unstable Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) and her professor husband Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg) welcome young couple Fred (Logan Lerman) and Rose (Odessa Young) to their home. While the eager Fred assists Stanley with his classes at Bennington College, Rose stays home to deal with the tempermental and erratic Shirley. While Rose is initially off-put by Shirley, who is able to tell Rose is pregnant despite the couple wanting to keep it a secret, she is soon seduced by her madness. Rose begins to help Shirley as she embarks on writing her next novel Hangsaman, which is inspired by a real life mystery involving a missing college girl. As their unlikely friendship grows, Rose starts to lose her grip on reality as she is drawn into Shirley's web of deception and finds her life changed forever.


While the above description makes this thrilling biopic sound boilerplate and unoriginal, Josephine Decker's film is anything but and is bolstered by an uneasy and uncomfortable tension and fantastic performances. Much like her previous films Madeline's Madeline and Thou Was't Mild and Lovely, Decker's camera feels like a character and creates a claustrophobic atmosphere. The film has a way of getting under your skin, whether it's Michael Stuhlbarg's creepy and controlling professor or Shirley's disturbing visions and unbridled madness.


Elisabeth Moss continues her impressive rise as one of the best female actresses working today. Although she continues to tackle a wide variety of roles, she brings the same level of commitment to all of them. It's well chronicled how troubled Shirley Jackson was in real life and Moss is able to find the balance between Shirley's clearly deranged persona and the one who would become one of the best writers of this generation. Moss is magnetic and you can't take your eyes off her. Equally impressive is Stuhlbarg, who I feel is always underrated in everything he is in. Here his character is maddeningly and purposefully manipulative and Stuhlbarg revels in it. Moss and Stuhlbarg should have a couple golden statues to their name by the time their careers are finished and it's incredible given their body of work that they haven't at least been nominated by this point.


This should be a star making turn for Odessa Young, who I last saw as the lead in 2018's satire Assassination Nation. Her relationship with Shirley is a tortured one and her journey and growth through the course of this film is equal parts horrifying and satisfying. While she and Lerman are good together, at the same time they feel purposefully stripped of any chemistry. It's hard to explain but their dynamic helps reinforce why Shirley is able to have as much impact as she does on Rose and Young sells it believably. I look forward to what she has to offer next.


This is one of the more unique and thrilling biopics to come out in some time. Sign yourself up for some madness.

Grade: A

Shirley is available on Hulu.

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