the things she's (Elisabeth Moss) doing here are quietly astonishing; it's a spellbinding picture, and another fine vehicle for the strange and beautiful way this singular artist (Josephine Decker) sees the world
Sarah Gubbins' script is tart, verbally lively and neatly constructed, while director Josephine Decker, keeps a very tight rein on things, adroitly mixing in tension, innuendo and dark humor to keep the drama at a satisfying low boil most of the way
Josephine Decker's biography of famed gothic novelist Shirley Jackson is a sumptuous period psychodrama; This is Decker’s funniest film to date, yet also her most intimate and erotic
in Shirley Jackson, the actress (Elisabeth Moss) veers from grumpy to menacing to touching, turning in what may be her best -- and is surely her wittiest -- film performance to date
Review rate : B+by David Canfield[Entertainment Weekly ]
in exploring themes of womanhood, marriage, and the creative process, "Shirley" covers similar ground as other works of art depicting this era of old-fashioned American repression, which makes it more palatable to a wider audience
a perversely entertaining take on a brief period of Shirley Jackson's life gives the star (Elisabeth Moss) one of her most daring roles to date; it's a thrillingly perverse example of what happens when the shackles of biopic formula are cast aside