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“Grey Gardens” Blooms Anew
While the Maysles original creates a fascinating and complex character study of these one-of-a-kind women, this narrative version has a poignant heft of its own. We get to see Edith, Edie and Grey Gardens itself in their lush, perfect primes, making the gradual disintegration of all three all the more heartbreaking. In The Beales of Grey Gardens, a follow-up doc featuring footage of the Beales that hadn’t been used in the prior film, Edie says she’s doing the movie because she doesn’t want another actress to play her; David Maysles jokes that perhaps Ethel Barrymore could play Edith. What a coincidence, then, that Ethel’s great-niece should be the one playing Edie in this version. Since Grey Gardens wouldn’t work without two powerhouse female leads, it’s exciting to see Barrymore and Lange bringing their A-game here. Just the right age to be convincing as both an 18-year-old and a 57-year-old, Barrymore completely inhabits Edie’s drive, her dreams, her delusions and her disappointments. Lange makes for a perfect sparring partner; her re-creation of Edith’s interview footage from the documentary is chillingly spot-on. Deserving of special notice is age makeup designer Bill Corso, who makes both actresses span the decades convincingly.
Lange as Big Edie ages convincingly Also adding a note of poignancy to the proceedings is Rachel Portman’s evocative, but never sappy, score. When I included the original Grey Gardens in my book 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men, I found it interesting that the only people who asked why it was there were the ones who hadn’t seen it. Anyone who has watched the film, which has no explicitly gay content, immediately got it.
The Beales are strong women who survive hard times; even when reduced to poverty, they retain a sense of style, humor and élan that most gay men can only aspire to. (Just listen to designer Todd Oldham wax effusive about Edie’s fashion sense on the Criterion Collection DVD.) There’s a smidge of third-act tear-jerking in the HBO movie that’s jarringly out of place, but it comes and goes too quickly to make any lasting negative an impact on what is, overall, a solid piece of filmmaking. Fans of the original Grey Gardens who feared that a dramatic version could only disappoint should relax; this new production is nothing less than, as Edie describes herself, S-T-A-U-N-C-H. Grey Gardens airs Saturday April 18th at 8PM EDT/PDT on HBO.Submitted by on Wed, 2009-04-15 19:47. |
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A pair for all time
Of course I'll watch this new movie, but...
...does anyone else feel left out in the cold when it comes to all the Grey Gardens/Beales lovin'?
This is one of those pop culture monuments that I feel like you're supposed to LOVE as a gay guy. And I don't.
I've seen the docs and listened to the soundtrack of the musical. There are aspects of the whole affair that I enjoy, but there's just something so mean-spirited and exploitive about the docs (the musical less so). Maybe if the Beales seemed a bit more self-aware in the docs that they're being used and played by film-makers (the way many contestants on reality shows seem aware that they're creating content or playing a game). But I just don't see this type of awareness from the ladies in the docs.
I feel you but...
Good points, Addison...
I especially appreciate your observation that it's a "small tale" that didn't end up "lost to history, warts and all." I can see the documentary and the various off-shoot projects in this light, and from that seem some worth in the whole Beale multi-media experience.
My frustration comes from the freak show aspect of the docs: A freak show needs two elements -- "freaks" and then "non-freaks" to look at the freaks. Big and Little Edie were individually and collectively troubled women, and yes, their appearances, surroundings, and words all have definitely freakish qualities.
But they aren't aware of their freak status. That's why the docs feel like such cruel jokes to me. Many freaks are aware that they're different; some even play up or capitalize their differences, which gives them an intriguing power in these freak/non-freak interactions. The Beale women have long personal histories of being disempowered -- and the documentaries seem to have the effect of branding them as freaks and further disempowering them. (I guess the fact that the house survives thanks in part to Little Edies efforts is some small comfort.)
And, at least in my experience, in the hands of pop-culture ravenous gay men, the freak show aspects of the docs gets played up, camped up. The docs are not grotesque film-making in the tradition of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (A sort of exploitive film with freakish elements that really like because Joan and Bette are masterful film actresses who seem -- to me at least -- to be aware of the ridiculousness of the film world they're inhabiting.) So any exploitation that I felt while watching the films gets amplified. I guess, I feel like I'm part of the exploitation too.
BTW, how do women feel about Grey Garden? I've only every talked with gay men about the docs and musical. Inquiring minds...
Freak Show Rebuttal
Answer to boyd...
...from a woman's perspective...I watched the documentary last week on knowledge network here in Canada. At first, I was confused so I looked it up on IMDB to see what the heck I was watching. Then, I finished watching it with a profound sense of sadness for these women. It was similar to seeing homeless people and knowing that most of us are just a bad luck turn away from being in their place. Same with these women. I felt that they weren't so far removed from many of us. We all have these grandiose schemes that we dream for our lives, but it all could dissolve into madness with just an unfortunate turn of events, a loss of financial security, obligations that we can't shrug off, a settling in of fear of stepping out of our comfort zone.
I am sounding awfully dramatic here, but these are all thoughts that occured to me as I was watching this movie. I loved Little Edie and if she had been my neighbour, I would have spent many hours talking to her on her porch. She was living her "inner life" that most of us keep hidden deep down in ourselves. Watching Edie fussing with her scarves and explaining her outfits, I came to realize that doing the documentary was her showcase, and that she instinctively knew that it was as much fame as she would muster. Perhaps she was being exploited, but she needed that to express herself. Edith seemed less aware of being exploited, maybe because she had actually had lived a life, and seemed more irritated by the filmmakers.
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.
Question for Boyd
I'll probably see it because...
the world of Grey Gardens is practically part of Gay Pop Culture 101. There's a whole bunch of non-gay films that gay guys love and love to talk about and refer to. Grey Gardens, as Alonso points out, is definitely one of those films. So I guess I want to be part of the discussion.
Who knows, maybe it will be good for me to see the story shift from reality/documentary to a scripted and acted movie? I enjoyed many aspects of the Grey Gardens musical soundtrack. Although the musical has some issues, I think it captures the humanity and struggle of the Beale women in less exploitive way than the docs. And Christine Ebersole's performance was stunning musical theatre regardless of how one feels about the docs.
I also like Drew and Jessica very much -- and the production shots look stunning.
Not alone...
It wasn't until just recently that I found out what Grey Gardens was even about. I had heard of the stage show, but never knew anything about it. I hadn't even heard of the original doc, until now. I just recently read about it, on here and in EW, and it sounds like an interesting story.
I will see this movie because I will see anything that Drew is in!
This was great!
I got to see a screening of this two nights ago, and it was SO good. It really fleshed out the mysteries behind these two women, and I actually thought the "third-act tear jerking" was extremely effective and worked well. The biggest revelation, though, was Drew Barrymore. Who knew that girl could deliver a performance like this?! She really has something to be proud of, and I think has just opened up a whole new "second act" for her career (not playing one Little Edie type after another, but being considered for serious, meaty roles instead of just the light fare she's always done).
The blog is staunch also.
I'll give her credit
Good Movie
No explicit gay content, but
Jerry
Really? How odd.
And here's why
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-P-Bvn8qGo