Film Review: Liz & Dick

by Ariana Burrell

"I'm bored, so bored"

          Liz and Dick is a 2012 Lifetime film that spans 30 years of Elizabeth Taylor's life from divorcing her fourth husband Eddie Fisher to meeting, marrying, divorcing, and remarrying Richard Burton.  Lindsay Lohan plays Elizabeth Taylor and Grant Bowler portrays Richard Burton.  

As someone who didn't know much about Elizabeth Taylor, I found the film very hard to follow.  I knew she had several marriages and was an important actress in film history but the film did not give enough background information.  

The film begins in the middle of shooting Cleopatra.  There were no title cards or introductions, you were just dropped into the middle of the action.  I thought I had accidentally skipped the first 20 minutes of the film, but I had not.  

No one is introduced.  Because of the media surrounding the film, I knew that Lindsay Lohan is portraying Elizabeth Taylor and Grant Bowler is portraying Richard Burton but the film never explains who Richard is.  He is an actor on a film set but the audience does not know what happened right before that to cause Richard to have an affair with Elizabeth.  There is no chemistry between these two actors, making the stakes of Elizabeth leaving her husband and Richard leaving his wife feel unimportant.    

I did not feel anything towards the characters or their situation.  For instance, their accountant keeps telling the couple that they are having financial issues but we as the audience never see the ramifications of the financial issues.  They keep spending money and taking fancy vacations with no repercussions.   

Lindsay as Elizabeth never ages.  Her wigs change but her face stays the same.  I didn't believe her playing Elizabeth at 29 nor did I believe her in her 60s.  Because she never ages, I had trouble following the timeline of events as the film spans 30 years.

In between each major event is Elizabeth and Richard sitting in director's chairs in a black box commenting on what has transpired on screen.  You'd think that these comments would help fill in plot holes and give background information but it is more of a rehashing of what we just saw.  For instance, Elizabeth tries to kill herself to get Richard's attention.  Cut to the black box and she says that she was upset that Richard wouldn't leave his wife for her.  As the audience, we already understood that.  Happy people don't try to commit suicide.