'Liz & Dick': Lindsay Lohan lacks luster

Suffice it to say, Lohan's no Taylor (not that anyone is or ever could be). But poor Linds doesn't stand a chance. As seen here, her skills are rudimentary -- made rustier by a long absence and a lot of other extracurricular activities. She delivers lines dutifully, competently, and at times woodenly, but she also looks like someone who has to think about what she has to say before she says it.

That's usually called "sleepwalking through a role" instead of actually "occupying" one. Lohan is somewhere in-between most of the time, though closer to sleepwalking.

The movie is set up as sort of a series of recollections, with Taylor and Burton on a dark set recalling the lurid past. Lohan's made up in dark red lipstick, light makeup and jet-black wig; it's a striking shot, and, in some ways, the best part of this film. She's drained, world-weary and cynical -- almost bored with the story she's telling. But whatever sort of spell comes out of those fleeting scenes is shattered the moment the flashbacks begin. Or as Burton says, "The performers know the lines . . . but they just keep coming out wrong . . ."