Grey Gardens (2009)

Made for cable film of of Edie Beale Sn and Jr. who were a pair of Mother/Daughter socialites (Aunt/cousin to Jackie O) in the 1960’s who slid out of the limelight and away from wealth and sanity. They made headlines in the 1970s when their decrepit mansion in the Hamptons was found by the authorities and, having found it to be uninhabitable by humans or animals, had it condemned. The Maylses Brothers (of Gimmie Shelter fame) made a (mind-fuckingly great!) documentary about them which has won them a well deserved cult following.

This docu-drama is the rest of the story, what they were like when they were rich and how they managed to fall so far. When a young Little Edie moves to NYC to become a singer and dancer, Big Edies marriage begins to unravel. Big Edie discovers that Little Edie is having an affair with a married man and has her Husband send her back to their house in the Hamptons: Grey Gardens.

They are put on an allowance that barely covers the mansions bills, and when Mr. Beale dies things only get worse. Brothers and family members try to intervene but the Edies are not having it and the house is slowly taken over by cats and raccoons. Their squalor is only discovered when the stench becomes so great (empty cat food tins, animal waste) that the neighbors downwind complain to the authorities.

It is a story lovingly told, directed and acted well. Drew Barrymore does a solid job as Little Edie, her mannerisms and inflections are quite good. But it is Jessica Lange as her Mother “Big” Edie who really fucking shines. She is a vision. A flawless performance on par with Jaimie Foxx as Ray Charles. Astounding. My only complaint it that it gets a little sappy towards the end, but this is a made for cable docudrama about a crazy mother & daughter. It could’ve been so much worse.

I would strongly encourage everyone to see the original documentary (also called Grey Gardens) before seeing this. The personalities onscreen are so strong that it is stranger than fiction. It is also one of the finest documentaries ever made. This is a fine companion for fans.