Shirley

Despite an upgraded cast and a vastly more appealing premise than her frustrating 2018 breakthrough Madeline's Madeline, director Josephine Decker doubles down on psychological pretension with Shirley, a fictional biopic on author Shirley Jackson that wastes a talented cast — and viewers’ valuable time.

Even with Elisabeth Moss as “The Lottery” writer and Michael Stuhlbarg as her unfaithful husband Stanley Hyman, plus Odessa Young (Assassination Nation) and Logan Lerman (Indignation) as a 20something academic couple who temporarily live with them, the film boils down to two hours of Moss brooding and saying random shit. That she’s playing a cult literary figure and is herself a cult favorite is apparently supposed to make her babbling palatable.

The script by I Love Dick creator Sarah Gubbins, working from Susan Scarf Merrell's novel, specializes in silly, pompous dialogue that’s meant to skewer the professorial crowd, but loses all potency through the cast’s questionable vocal inflections that suggest each line is improvised.

As the older couple manipulate the younger pair, resulting in rampant infidelity and mental strain, the same lack of planning is evident in the ugly camerawork carried out by Decker and cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen (Rams), who appear to be allergic to tripods and basic shot composition.

The thoughtless execution on all fronts results in such grand disorganization that Shirley resembles a Terrence Malick film edited by a distracted tween. Whatever insights Decker & Co. wish to provide regarding mental illness and the creative process fails to translate to the screen, resulting in less a film than another frustrating journey into psychosis that’s all but impenetrable for anyone who doesn’t share the main character’s troubles.

Grade: D-plus. Rated R. Now available to rent via fineartstheatre.com

(Photo: NEON)