Grey Gardens is the new HBO made-for-TV movie based on the true story that flips Cinderella’s “rags-to-riches” plotline on its head. Starring Jessica Lange (Big Fish, Titus) and Drew Barrymore (Donnie Darko, The Wedding Singer) as Big and Little Edie Beale, Grey Gardens surprisingly illustrates the lives of the Long Island mother and daughter relatives of Jackie O (wife of John F. Kennedy, R.I.P). The duo live in their beautiful mansion estate on Long Island and are plunged into a life of solitude and bankruptcy. The two lose all human contact and in turn become almost one with nature, as you will begin to see and understand halfway through the film when the Grey Gardens estate is transformed from an elegant oasis to a feral housing for the four-legged.
Coming from HBO, you can immediately expect some quality work. This isn’t PBS we’re talking about here, and I can’t see why this couldn’t have received theater audiences. The acting is surprisingly good, considering I’m not all that much of a Drew Barrymore fan, but both Lange and Barrymore nail their roles. For a comparison on how well they fill the Beale’s shoes you can watch the documentary, Grey Gardens, by Albert Maysles. For a film biopic, which seems to be the newest craze, such as recently released pictures Milk and Public Enemies for example, Grey Gardens does a fine job and successfully accomplishes its goals. The camera work is simple but gets the point across-with a film like this where the cinematography is unimportant in telling a story or useless in improving a vision, its forgiven by superb acting and a smooth narrative. If you do watch this, I highly suggest the documentary as your “companion rental.” This will further flesh out the characters and allow you to truly appreciate the acting and casting done here. – [DVD]
Biography/Drama
Not Rated
DVD Release Date: 7/14/09
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