Lizzie Captures the Lesbian Romance that Motivated the Ax Murders

Lizzie isn't the first reimagining of the alleged ax-murderess Lizzie Borden and the bloody deaths of her father and stepmother, but it is the first to offer a glimpse of the lesbian love story that supposedly motivated the killings.

The film takes place in 1892 in River, Mass., where Borden was accused of and ultimately acquitted for the murder of her father and stepmother.

The film that has been Chloe Sevigny's passion project since 2010, when she began developing the story with screenwriter Bryce Kass as a four-hour miniseries for HBO, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it drops in theaters starting September 14.

Sevigny starred in and worked as an executive producer on the film, taking the role of Borden while Kristen Stewart stars opposite her as Bridget Sullivan, the family housemaid and Borden's love interest.

The recently released trailer teases that the women's romance will be a driving force in the film. The plot appears not to shy away from Borden's father's sexual abuse of Sullivan, nor does it hide Borden's blatant resentment toward her stepmother. Although the gruesome and gory nature of the ax murders is heavily highlighted, the trailer makes it understandable as to why Borden's father and stepmother weren't Lizzie's favorite people.

Critics have said that although the film isn't entirely historically accurate, Sevigny and Stewart's electric chemistry more than makes up for it, and in an interview with The Huffington Post, Sevigny admitted that historical accuracy wasn't her main concern while making the film.

"So much has been said [about Borden]. But I think that we just really wanted to focus on how she went about finding [her freedom] and how important that was to her and what that meant to her," Sevigny said. "Whether it was through the relationship with [her maid] or ultimately killing her parents for money -- because money equaled freedom then. It still does. I wanted it to be this rousing, smash-the-patriarchy piece, and then she gets everything she wants monetarily -- the capitalist dream. She gets the house on the hill, and Bridget leaves her. Her sister leaves her. She ends up alone."

Directed by Craig William Macneill, the movie also stars Jamey Sheridan, Kim Dickens and out actors Fiona Shaw and Denis O'Hare.

Watch the trailer here: