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Shirley (2024) Movie Review

Shirley – Movie Review

Discover the inspiring story of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, and her trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination.

Director: John Ridley (Needle in a Timestack)

Writer: John Ridley (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Shirley Chisholm makes a trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination after becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.

Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Shirley starts when Shirley Chisholm (King) gets elected to Congress. She doesn’t just want to make up the numbers there and decides to lead a Democratic presidential campaign. Her team is put together by Wesley Holder (Reddick), Arthur Hardwick Jr (Howard), Robert Gottlieb (Hedges) and Stanley Townsend (Mitchell).

However, the campaign is filled with more challenges as a black woman competing against the dominating white man. She looks to challenge those systems in an attempt to make history no matter what gets in her way.

Verdict on Shirley

Shirley is a historical drama following the first black congresswoman who looks to break even more barriers. She wants to run for president and leads a campaign against the people trying to deny her the opportunity.

This movie shows the inspiration the campaign created, showing the walls that got tackled while trying to make the change. Shirley Chisholm is an important person in American history and her story deserves to be told. However, the movie feels more like a by-the-book biopic and despite getting over the bigger moments of the campaign. It never seems to challenge the bigger story being told. I might have struggled more because I don’t understand American politics, which is confusing to an outsider too.

Where to Watch

JustWatch

Final Thoughts – Shirley is an important story to be told celebrating an important person in history.

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Movie Review

Shirley (2020) London Film Festival Movie Review

Director: Josephine Decker

Writer: Sarah Gubbins (Screenplay) Susan Scarf Merrell (Novel)

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young, Michael Stuhlbarg, Logan Lerman, Victoria Pedretti, Robert Wuhl

Plot: A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.

Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Shirley starts as a young couple Fred Nemset (Lerman) and Rose (Young) move in with successful author Shirley (Moss) and her teacher husband Stanley (Stuhlbarg). As Rose doesn’t enjoy the company of Shirley, whose nature doesn’t hold back in her comments.

Shirley however gets inspiration from the young couple of a new novel, one about a missing woman, that reminds her of Rose, as the two start to gain a level of respect for each other, even becoming friends spending time together.

Thoughts on Shirley

Characters – Shirley is an estranged reclusive author who rarely leaves her home, she doesn’t hold back on her comments on people and often doesn’t like many people, including her husband. She starts out being distant from Rose, but starts to use her to help her create her latest horror book, while starting to come out of her own shell more. Rose Nemser is moving with her husband to attend the university that Shirley’s husband works at, she gets welcomed into the home, where she doesn’t start getting along with Shirley, before toughing it out to learn how complex she truly is and wants to learn more about standing up to her husband’s demands. Stanley is Shirley’s cheating husband, he has been doing this for years with his students and does have an agreement with Shirley. Fred is Rose’s husband that is learning under Stanley, he wants to be a good husband, but sees what he could have with a wife at home too.

Performances – Elisabeth Moss is great in the leading role, showing a complex character who has been struggling through her life, with Odessa Young breaking onto the scene with her performance which sees her keep up with Moss on nearly every level. Michael Stuhlbarg fills the supporting role with ease, making us want to see more from him in every scene too.

Story – The story here follows a young couple that move into the home of a famous author and her husband, with them soon becoming the inspiration to Shirley to write her latest novel. This is a story that does focus on relationships and how they be built up after getting to know somebody more, it does deal with people not finding socialising easy and is also tackling how women were only seen as wives.

Settings – The film uses the home setting for Shirley to show how difficult it will be for her to leave the home preferring to be away from the world.


Scene of the Movie – Mushrooms

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We only hear what the husbands are up to, rather than seeing how easily they could have their heads turned.

Final Thoughts – Shirley is a wonderfully acting movie that will tell a big story about relationships and inspiration.