From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

It was somewhere in the middle of the second episode, when the scheming bisexual maid dyed her hair purple and casually administered a medical abortion, that I realized oMonster: The Lizzie Borden Storyo is not
just bad but the worst television show ever. It was atrociously
written, with mediocre acting and a downright disgusting sensibility,
but that specific moment cemented its complete artistic and moral rot.
The show has next to no entertaining quality, and the evil it emanates
is hard to overstate.

The series is wildly unpleasant throughout, its tone oscillating
between disgusting and fetishistic. Anything gory or gross that can be
shown is,often undercutting the tension or character development for a
cheap gross-out shock.

In episode one, the fatherAs defining moment sees him selling a coffin
to a grieving family, promising dignity in death, only to chop the
manAs legs off at the shins in order to make him fit. Rather than
experience character development, the camera zooms in on the cross-
section of the leg, leaving the gore, not the development, as the
lingering image.

When the series isnAt trying to nauseate anyone who watches, the camera
plays voyeur, sharing more than IAd like to know about the
predilections of the writer, director, or both. Sexuality remains as
nasty as the rest of the series, exploitative or shock-reliant. All men
are presented as boorish at best and more often predatory, an odd
oman-bado perspective where the killers are women. Lesbianism doesnAt
fare much better, as the show highlights perversions as part of its
broader commitment to unpleasantness.

The Aileen Wuornos diversions had potential to provide interesting
parallels between the killers, but sheAs used for little more than
off-putting graphic sex scenes, some surface-level feminist posturing,
and playing into the showAs fetishistic romanticization of Lizzie. Her inclusion added nothing of value and took needed time that couldAve
been spent fleshing out the central murderer.

The shoehorned feminism is particularly galling in the final episode,
where Lizzie Borden and her lesbian co-conspirator are presented as suffragettes, an entirely fabricated effort to further drive sympathy
to this axe murderer.

The dialogue is so abysmal it strains credulity. The characters bluntly
state every thought that passes through their heads, absent any art or subtlety. The acting, as such, is neither a point for nor against the
series.

Star Ella Beatty is barely adequate as the eponymous murderer. Her
performance is one-note, either wide-eyed and cloying or blood-soaked
and aroused in a murderous frenzy. In BeattyAs defense, the script
gives her nothing to work with, but she brings nothing beyond the
surface to the material.

Vicky Krieps, the aforementioned bisexual maid Brigitte oMaggieo
Sullivan, sleepwalks her way through a dull performance. SheAs meant to
be the seductive, modern force of chaos that lures Lizzie to the dark
side, but between her boring performance and utter lack of chemistry
with Beatty, itAs hard to imagine her compelling a kiss, much less
multiple murders. The gimmick of changing her hair color each episode
is an off-putting anachronism, and unflatteringly brings to mind the
far better-written and better-acted Ramona Flowers and Clementine.

As LizzieAs wicked stepmother, Mrs. Borden, Rebecca Hall tries her best
to inject some life into this abominable script, leaning into a campy, over-the-top sensibility. But with dialogue so cartoonishly evil it
would make CinderellaAs stepmother balk at the wanton cruelty, Hall can
only do so much. One wishes the show was as fun to watch as it clearly
was for Hall to create.

Charlie Hunnam, whose performance was among the only bright spots of
the previous oMonstero entry featuring Ed Gein, is similarly lackluster
as Lizzie BordenAs father.

Jessica BardenAs recurring turn as Nance OANeil, a delightfully
melodramatic actress with a mean-girl streak, provides some of the only enjoyment in this abject failure of a series. BardenAs charm and screen presence, along with an actual character to play and limited screen
time, make her character fun to watch.

The showAs one unqualified strength is its production design, which is impeccable. The costumes are beautiful, feeling historically grounded
and lived-in u clothes these people would plausibly select and wear.
The sets and furniture are lovely, with the Borden house a well-
constructed ecosystem for the story. This gorgeous world deserves a better-written show.

The wild ahistorical nature of the series means viewers will not walk
away knowing much about the real Lizzie Borden, but I felt I learned
little even about this fictionalized version. The series is so shallow
in its depiction of the eponymous woman beyond a mean stepmother and
absent father and general anti-male sentiments that any deeper
exploration of her psyche or what drove a seemingly sweet young woman
to brutal murder is ignored in favor of shock and exploitation.

Watch anything else instead.
--
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