Neon has released the official trailer for their upcoming summer film Shirley. The film is based on Susan Scarf Merrell’s novel of the same name about renowned horror and mystery author Shirley Jackson, who penned novels like The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House.
Elisabeth Moss stars as the famed author, another big performance after her successful work in The Invisible Man, which hit theaters and PVOD in March. Moss also produced the film alongside screenwriter Sarah Gubbins, Christine Vachon of Killer Films, and former HBO Entertainment president Sue Naegle. The film is directed by Josephine Decker, marking her return to the director’s chair after earning critical acclaim from her thespian thriller Madeline’s Madeline. Alongside Moss, the cast includes Logan Lerman, Odessa Young, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
Shirley follows Fred (Lerman) and Rose (Young), a newly-wed couple who move to a small Vermont college town so Fred can pursue a job as an assistant professor of literature. They receive an offer for free room and board from professor Stanley Hyman (Stuhlbarg), as long as Rose agrees to spend time cleaning up the home and looking after his wife, Shirley Jackson (Moss). The couple’s arrival upends Shirley’s meticulous routine of writing her next masterpiece, heightening tensions in her relationship with her husband. Hyman and Jackson, already prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begin to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple, who must discover the limitations of their young love and learn to cope with the older eccentric duo.
Shirley premiered earlier this year at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Neon acquired all rights and will release the film on June 5. Watch the trailer below: