Shirley (2020)

Elisabeth Moss turns in a terrific performance as Shirley Jackson, portrayed here as an acerbic, agoraphobic, alcoholic writer of horror stories in 1964 Bennington, Vermont. Jackson was a real person and her family was not happy about the portrayal. Her most famous story, The Lottery, was originally published in The New Yorker in 1948 and the magazine reran it in August of this year, around the time of the movie's release. Read and/or listen to it here.

The supporting cast also shines, including Michael Stuhlbarg as Jackson's ebullient husband and Odessa Young and Logan Lerman as the young couple who stay with them.

This won a Sundance Award as well as a few other nominations for director Josephine Decker. Sarah Gubbins adapted Susan Scarf Merrell's 2014 novel.

Since we watched this two months ago, I have little recollection of the set dressing and cinematography. I'm sure it was fabulous. I do sort of remember the mid-century wardrobe so I'll give a shout out to Amela Baksic.

The soundtrack by Tamar-Kali can be found on YouTube, Apple Music, and more.

Moss was last blogged for Her Smell, Stuhlbarg for Call Me by Your Name, Lerman for Indignation, and Tamar-Kali for The Assistant. Young isn't new to acting and this is Decker's fifth feature, but both are new to me. I've enjoyed all of Gubbins' previous work–writing and producing the serieses Better Things and I Love Dick. The former is a must-see.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in line with us, averaging 87% while its audiences, not so much at 56.

You can stream this on Hulu by subscription or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and more.