[Craig William] Macneill's approach might be described as a so-so impression of art-house understatement, with lots of wide-screen compositions that make obvious use of negative space and a flat tone that might be mistaken for dramatic restraint.

Takes its title character out of folk history and rewrites her as a queer proto-feminist battling against the worst excesses of patriarchal power.

A two-hander with actresses of this calibre should be a humdinger, but very little about this misjudged period drama works properly.

Lizzie is a decent film, but it takes a long time to get to the juicy parts. Perhaps this story is best being adapted as a miniseries on so we can spend more time with this fascinating character.