An Analysis Of Lizzie Borden's Essay 'Took An Axe'
Pg. #1
Lizzie Borden “Took an Axe” The first module essay was based on Lizzie Borden and the murders of her parents, a mystery that till this day has not been solved. The second module essay will be a profile about the newest movie and its different way of telling the story. The newest movie was produced by the Lifetime network and was called Lizzie Borden “Took an Axe” and aired in January 25, 2014. Almost everyone has heard the infamous childhood rhyme, “ Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks, when she saw what she had done, gave her father forty-one”. Throughout history there have been countless different books, movies, versions, and rumors of how the events occurred on August 04, 1892. Many movie producers and writers have tried to re-enact …show more content…
how they thought it happened. But, in the Lifetime network 's version Took an Axe, there is a completely different spin on the unsolved murders. Their approach is a more stylish rehashing of both facts, gory details, and with a lighter tone mixed in as well. There are so many possible ways to tell the story of Lizzie Borden, who was put on trial and acquitted for the gruesome hatchet murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, MA. The case against Borden was completely circumstantial, and very convincing as well. Still, there remain several other possible scenarios, regarding the crime and its perpetrator. The script in the movie Took an Axe chooses a linear narrative without alternate scenarios, although hinted at throughout the movie. But, in this movie there is one clear murderer who’s guilt is ultimately made unquestionable. Many well known actors are present in this movie, but the show really belongs to Christina Ricci, who stars as Lizzie. Ricci 's version of Lizzie is very liberal and seductive throughout the movie with a hint of craziness mixed in at times. The movie portrays Lizzie as being very rebellious woman.
Pg. #2
There is a scene in the movie of her stealing money from her stepmother 's bag to go buy a new dress.
When Lizzie is confronted by her father she innocently denies ever touching her stepmother 's bag. Ultimately Lizzie 's father punishes her and denies her from going to a party in which she purchased the dress for. But, being the rebellious woman she is, she sneaks out of the house to attend the party, while wearing the dress she stole the money to buy. In one line of the movie, she claims to be a Sunday-school teacher “only on Sundays” with a devilish curl of her lips. The movie also suggests that she is promiscuous, with scenes of her making out with a handyman worker of the estate, and scenes in which Lizzie is in her room naked, staring at herself in the mirror. After the murders, she often crept up behind the maids and her sister, smiling with unblinking eyes. Ricci portrays Lizzie as a stone-cold killer with the composure to be an ultimate liar. In the movie, the jury can not believe a woman to be a “feral, insane-fiend” (to quote the prosecution), but, Ricci makes it easy to imagine the kind of nature that would have led Lizzie on such a spree. As for the nature of the family, the portrayal of the Borden family is repressed and unhappy. Although it is brief throughout the movie, it is very clear, with many suggestions that there was abuse and possible incest between father and daughter. The daughters were considered spinster by society because of their age and lack of being married. The movie also makes it quite clear that the daughters are not fans of the stepmother because of their loss of the fathers fortune, due to his remarriage. It is also apparent the the father is a very wealthy man , with a uncertain amount of enemies. But it is also very clear that the father is not quick to use any of his money, unless it is for his wife. Even the sister is portrayed as a shady person, in one scene calling her sister a liar, but in another , lying on the witness stand in an effort to help her sister cover the truth. But the bulk of the movie focuses on the aftermath of the murders, including Lizzie 's strange behavior, and the trial. While the courtroom scenes rehash facts, both from in the movie and known
Pg. #3 from the real case, the direction keeps the movie engaging. During the movie, there are number of flash backs to the crime scene that are gory, stylish, and occasionally startling. There are scenes in which you can see that Lizzie is in the basement, suggesting that she is hiding the murder weapon and cleaning up her bloody mess. Throughout the movie, however, it is very clear that Lizzie is a mentally unstable woman. Her demeanor in the court room was completely different from when she was alone with her sister, flip-flopping between an aggressive evil liar, and a silent innocent looking, loving daughter. The movie also makes it very clear that Lizzie 's sister Emma Borden completely knew that her sister was the killer.
Throughout the entire movie she is constantly catching Lizzie in various lies and would confront her, only to be lied to in a different way in order to cover the previous lie. Emma even catches Lizzie late one night burning her dress in the backyard. It was the same dress she was wearing the day her parents were killed. But what became odd was, once the trial started and Emma was on the stand, she also became a liar and covered for her sister Lizzie in every way possible in an effort to protect her. Sometime after the trail was over and the sisters were living together they had an argument. During that argument Lizzie asked Emma if she really wanted to know the truth. Lizzie then leaned in to Emma 's ear and whispered what she had done. While she was whispering the movie showed exactly how Lizzie murdered her parents with all the gory detail. In the next scene , Emma is seen carrying her bags out of the house and never sees or speaks to Lizzie
again. The Lifetime movie , Took an Axe makes its position on her guilt very clear, and in doing so, it makes a distinct offering on the subject material. The movie is not interested in going deep into Lizzie 's psyche, or creating a horror film, or even giving a full historical account of events. The major and minor facts of the case are all there , mixed with a stylish soundtrack, and a fresher look on how Lizzie might have acted. And just like in real life , almost everyone in the movie believes she was responsible for their deaths. But as the movie ended , no one was ever prosecuted and the murders remained unsolved.
Pg. #4.
References
Administrator. (January, 26, 2014) Lifetime 's Lizzie Borden Took an Axe- Yes a crime was committed Lizzie Borden: Warps & Wefts, retrieved on January, 30, 2014 from, http://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/2014/01/26/lifetimes-lizzie-borden-took-an-axe
Internet Movie Database , Lizzie Borden Took an Axe, retrieved on February, 11, 2014 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3118958/
Vultaggio M. (January, 26, 2014) Is Lizzie Borden Guilty? International Business Times, retrieved on January, 30, 2014 from, http://www.ibtimes.com/lizzie-borden-guilty-facts-trivia
Lizzie Borden “Took an Axe” The first module essay was based on Lizzie Borden and the murders of her parents, a mystery that till this day has not been solved. The second module essay will be a profile about the newest movie and its different way of telling the story. The newest movie was produced by the Lifetime network and was called Lizzie Borden “Took an Axe” and aired in January 25, 2014. Almost everyone has heard the infamous childhood rhyme, “ Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks, when she saw what she had done, gave her father forty-one”. Throughout history there have been countless different books, movies, versions, and rumors of how the events occurred on August 04, 1892. Many movie producers and writers have tried to re-enact …show more content…
how they thought it happened. But, in the Lifetime network 's version Took an Axe, there is a completely different spin on the unsolved murders. Their approach is a more stylish rehashing of both facts, gory details, and with a lighter tone mixed in as well. There are so many possible ways to tell the story of Lizzie Borden, who was put on trial and acquitted for the gruesome hatchet murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, MA. The case against Borden was completely circumstantial, and very convincing as well. Still, there remain several other possible scenarios, regarding the crime and its perpetrator. The script in the movie Took an Axe chooses a linear narrative without alternate scenarios, although hinted at throughout the movie. But, in this movie there is one clear murderer who’s guilt is ultimately made unquestionable. Many well known actors are present in this movie, but the show really belongs to Christina Ricci, who stars as Lizzie. Ricci 's version of Lizzie is very liberal and seductive throughout the movie with a hint of craziness mixed in at times. The movie portrays Lizzie as being very rebellious woman.
Pg. #2
There is a scene in the movie of her stealing money from her stepmother 's bag to go buy a new dress.
When Lizzie is confronted by her father she innocently denies ever touching her stepmother 's bag. Ultimately Lizzie 's father punishes her and denies her from going to a party in which she purchased the dress for. But, being the rebellious woman she is, she sneaks out of the house to attend the party, while wearing the dress she stole the money to buy. In one line of the movie, she claims to be a Sunday-school teacher “only on Sundays” with a devilish curl of her lips. The movie also suggests that she is promiscuous, with scenes of her making out with a handyman worker of the estate, and scenes in which Lizzie is in her room naked, staring at herself in the mirror. After the murders, she often crept up behind the maids and her sister, smiling with unblinking eyes. Ricci portrays Lizzie as a stone-cold killer with the composure to be an ultimate liar. In the movie, the jury can not believe a woman to be a “feral, insane-fiend” (to quote the prosecution), but, Ricci makes it easy to imagine the kind of nature that would have led Lizzie on such a spree. As for the nature of the family, the portrayal of the Borden family is repressed and unhappy. Although it is brief throughout the movie, it is very clear, with many suggestions that there was abuse and possible incest between father and daughter. The daughters were considered spinster by society because of their age and lack of being married. The movie also makes it quite clear that the daughters are not fans of the stepmother because of their loss of the fathers fortune, due to his remarriage. It is also apparent the the father is a very wealthy man , with a uncertain amount of enemies. But it is also very clear that the father is not quick to use any of his money, unless it is for his wife. Even the sister is portrayed as a shady person, in one scene calling her sister a liar, but in another , lying on the witness stand in an effort to help her sister cover the truth. But the bulk of the movie focuses on the aftermath of the murders, including Lizzie 's strange behavior, and the trial. While the courtroom scenes rehash facts, both from in the movie and known
Pg. #3 from the real case, the direction keeps the movie engaging. During the movie, there are number of flash backs to the crime scene that are gory, stylish, and occasionally startling. There are scenes in which you can see that Lizzie is in the basement, suggesting that she is hiding the murder weapon and cleaning up her bloody mess. Throughout the movie, however, it is very clear that Lizzie is a mentally unstable woman. Her demeanor in the court room was completely different from when she was alone with her sister, flip-flopping between an aggressive evil liar, and a silent innocent looking, loving daughter. The movie also makes it very clear that Lizzie 's sister Emma Borden completely knew that her sister was the killer.
Throughout the entire movie she is constantly catching Lizzie in various lies and would confront her, only to be lied to in a different way in order to cover the previous lie. Emma even catches Lizzie late one night burning her dress in the backyard. It was the same dress she was wearing the day her parents were killed. But what became odd was, once the trial started and Emma was on the stand, she also became a liar and covered for her sister Lizzie in every way possible in an effort to protect her. Sometime after the trail was over and the sisters were living together they had an argument. During that argument Lizzie asked Emma if she really wanted to know the truth. Lizzie then leaned in to Emma 's ear and whispered what she had done. While she was whispering the movie showed exactly how Lizzie murdered her parents with all the gory detail. In the next scene , Emma is seen carrying her bags out of the house and never sees or speaks to Lizzie
again. The Lifetime movie , Took an Axe makes its position on her guilt very clear, and in doing so, it makes a distinct offering on the subject material. The movie is not interested in going deep into Lizzie 's psyche, or creating a horror film, or even giving a full historical account of events. The major and minor facts of the case are all there , mixed with a stylish soundtrack, and a fresher look on how Lizzie might have acted. And just like in real life , almost everyone in the movie believes she was responsible for their deaths. But as the movie ended , no one was ever prosecuted and the murders remained unsolved.
Pg. #4.
References
Administrator. (January, 26, 2014) Lifetime 's Lizzie Borden Took an Axe- Yes a crime was committed Lizzie Borden: Warps & Wefts, retrieved on January, 30, 2014 from, http://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/2014/01/26/lifetimes-lizzie-borden-took-an-axe
Internet Movie Database , Lizzie Borden Took an Axe, retrieved on February, 11, 2014 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3118958/
Vultaggio M. (January, 26, 2014) Is Lizzie Borden Guilty? International Business Times, retrieved on January, 30, 2014 from, http://www.ibtimes.com/lizzie-borden-guilty-facts-trivia