NEON has released the trailer for Josephine Decker's upcoming thriller Shirley. Loosely based on the life of horror writer Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House), the film follows the author (Elisabeth Moss) and her philandering husband (Michael Stuhlbarg) as they begin to toy with a newlywed couple (Logan Lerman and Odessa Young) who have come to their home.

The film premiered at Sundance earlier this year and received positive notices. Here's what Adam Chitwood had to say about the movie in his review:

Stuhlbarg gives an inspired performance and Young plays her character’s dynamic arc with intensity, but this is Moss’ show and she does not disappoint. The madness of Shirley Jackson is there to be sure, but Moss brilliantly layers in the loneliness, sadness, and despair of the character all while keeping a façade of “I DGAF.”

 

Shirley is a welcome respite from cradle-to-the-grave biopics, and this fictional account offers an interesting pathway to understanding a bit more about Jackson’s somewhat tragic life.

I'm excited that audiences will get to see this one next month, and I'm eager to see Moss and Stuhlbarg bounce off each other. This trailer also serves as a reminder that I need to finally get around to seeing Decker's breakthrough movie, Madeline's Madeline.

Check out the Shirley trailer and poster below. The film will be available everywhere on June 5th. Click here for our interview with Decker and Stuhlbarg from Sundance.

Here's the official synopsis for Shirley:

Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.

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