LOS ANGELES _ Chloe Sevigny "gave 40 whacks" at getting a movie made about the life of Lizzie Borden and when that failed "she gave 41" more. The Academy Award-nominee became interested in the tale of the biggest murder mystery and trial at the end of the 19th century when she was growing up in Connecticut and that seed of curiosity finally grew into the feature film "Lizzie."
After numerous delays, countless obstacles and years of waiting, "Lizzie" is now in theaters. Sevigny takes on the role of Borden, the seemingly proper young woman from a good Massachusetts family who is accused of killing her father and stepmother with an ax. Along with the elements surrounding the murder, "Lizzie" also examines the relationship between Borden and housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart).
The long road to getting the movie made started with Sevigny asking an old friend, screenwriter Bryce Kass, to write a script. They were so committed to making a story about Borden with new elements that Sevigny and Kass went to Fall River, Mass., where they spent the night in the room where the murders occurred.
Sevigny knew Borden's story had been told in film and on TV (plus a jump rope song that speaks of 40 and 41 whacks) before but she wanted to make a version that took all the tidbits she had heard for years and offered a broader look at the Borden family history. The new version also delves into numerous alternative versions as to who could have committed the crimes.
By the time Sevigny had done all the research, she began to feel a lot of empathy for Borden. Along with the strong possibility that Borden committed the crimes � despite being exonerated � the new telling would also explore the possibility that Borden was a prisoner of her circumstances.
"I fell in love with Lizzie. I wanted to play her. I wanted to make this movie. I don't get that many opportunities to star in things and so I was determined to make this movie," Sevigny says. "It was a plus that Lizzie Borden has a built-in audience and they are the kind of people I relate to.
"She's this outcast icon for the misfits of the world. I wanted to make this movie for them and so I stuck with it."
Sevigny � who is a producer on the project � never imagined how difficult it would be to get the movie made.
"We pitched it to HBO. Then we pitched it as a movie and they wanted to do it as a miniseries," Sevigny says. "We had to reconstruct it as that. Then they shelved it. Then they brought it back out again. The good thing was Bryce and I were working on other projects and not just waiting around for them to do it."
The process continued for years but Sevigny stayed busy with film roles ("The Dinner," "Lovelace," "The Snowman") and television projects ("American Horror Story," "Portlandia," "Big Love," "The Mindy Project"). She's worked steadily since "Kids" in 1995.
Director Craig William Macneill says having Sevigny playing Borden was a gift because she has "a magnetic onscreen presence." A big part of playing Borden is what isn't said and Macneill found that Sevigny has a talent to keep powerful emotions just under the surface.
Playing a flawed character like Borden fits with the acting pattern Sevigny has put together in her career. The mundane and mainstream don't get her attention as much as roles that push her. Sevigny's first film role was starring in Larry Clark's controversial "Kids" and she earned her Oscar nomination for her work in "Boys Don't Cry." She's proud of the roles she's played but doesn't take full credit for the diverse acting opportunities she's had over the years.
"I have been lucky that with most of my films that I've been offered the roles. Directors have approached me. There are a lot of things I passed on but I've been lucky to have had good opportunities," Sevigny says. "I think what that comes from is when I was really young, I made some bold choices.
"I was very calculating when I was younger."
That calculation finally added up to Sevigny getting to finally play Borden. Now that "Lizzie" will get to be seen by audiences, Sevigny has great hope they will see what she saw in this tale.
"Not only is it a love story, it's also a classic American story of a woman thinking if she has financial independence she's find freedom and happiness. I think this film works on many levels," Sevigny says.
