Grey Gardens

I have NEVER publicly commented on a feature performance until now. Having seen the 1975 documentary about Edith and Edie Beale, I was absolutely blown away by the exacting performances--especially Drew Barrymore. I noticed a few comments dissing the film and it's rather obvious these people don't know the storyline. Jessica and Drew WERE their characters to perfection--a not-so-trivial accomplishment. I knew Lange could act but Drew perhaps has certainly lived up to her family lineage!!! ! Take it for what it's worth: this is a non-fiction account of a most dysfunctional family, parental control, character disorders, being a victim, and reluctant realization of unfulfilled dreams. Little Edie, with all her psychiatric shades, is accurately portrayed by Drew Barrymore. Jessica Lange as the spoiled, controlling mother, sort of sums it all up by telling her daughter that she's not easily likable or attractive with "...Edie ... you are more of an acquired taste". Yet, the bizarre paradox of their relationship is simple. Edie is filled with too much fear to go out into the world and the two really need each other. Call it pathological complementarity. This film works at every level!

Not sure why it took me so long to view this film (I rarely watch made-for-cable-television films, so that explains that.) I've seen the documentary a number of times and always came away from it wishing I would have had the opportunity to meet the Edies and, particularly, little Edie. I can't explain it, but there's just something so marvelously endearing about her. She should have been a "somebody" other than just being Jackie O.'s cousin.

Watching the 1975 Maysles record of the closing days of Grey Gardens always sets me to thinking, perhaps too much, about what I saw play out between my own deceased mother and grandmother. It always takes me a couple of days to shake that film loose.

I watched the documentary, again, three days ago. Tonight I watched the film--is there a genre known as augmented documentary? The augmented documentary floored me. In particular, Barrymore's performance is stunning. She IS little Edie! I know the documentary very well, all the "classic" lines; and, Barrymore's delivery of them was like...well, watching little Edie in the documentary. Yet, seeing more of the Beales' past played out in rich detail connected so many dots for me (e.g. the very special gift given to Edith by Krug that figures prominently at the film's end.)

At the film's end, I was sorely missing my mother. She was the little Edie in my life; and, she would have loved this film. My grandmother, or big Edie, would have loved it, too. Thankfully, furniture covered with plastic and strict rules about animals in the house (never cats, and only the occasional small dog not allowed in bedrooms) kept the living arrangement tidy; but, the big Edie and little Edie dynamic was all there. So much laughter, so many tears, so much love and so much dislike. This film captured it all for me. Perhaps, to really appreciate it, one needs to have lived it to a certain degree. If one hasn't, I can see where the film might come across less than excellent.

9/10 stars from me and only because the film didn't incorporate "The Marble Faun" eating corn with big Edie; and, I missed little Edit remarking on her "revolutionary" dress for the day.

Taking the magnificent 1975 documentary and turning it into a dram is a big risk - and I really feel that it payed off.

What was really great was the back-story that you didn't get in the documentary. Ken Howard (Michael Clayton, "Crossing Jordan") played Big Edie's husband, Malcolm Gets ("Caroline in the City") played George "Gould" Strong, and Daniel Baldwin was Julius Krug, all important characters in the 1936 portion of the film.

Drew Barrymore was absolutely magnificent as "Little" Edie, and Jessica Lange was amazing as "Big" Edie. The passive-aggressive attitude displayed made for some super entertainment. The co-dependency made for some outstanding drama. They were an endearing couple.

Things were really in a disgusting state with cats and raccoons all over the place when Jackie Kennedy Onassis (Jeanne Tripplehorn) shows up after numerous stories made the papers outlining the fact that the women were broke.

They were so far gone that they couldn't see how badly they looked in the documentary made about them. Eddie still thought she was destined to be a star.

If Drew Barrymore doesn't get a Golden Globe for this, something is very wrong.

I remember vividly walking through the living room one day in the late 90's when my roommate was chuckling at the documentary GREY GARDENS on the Sundance channel. My eye immediately caught the images of Big and Little Edie in the yellow room and I became involved watching it too. Something about this little documentary just drew me into it. Yes, it was funny, but the humor was also mixed with feelings of horror and pity. I remember feeling a bit uneasy watching these women. One confined to an uncomfortable bed and the other confined to her shattered dreams of unrealized stardom. Both seemingly stuck in a dilapidated house in bad need of repair. What I find beautiful about the documentary is how it questions ones own perception on what "wealth" is. The documentary has that "never judge a book by it's cover" / "things are never quite what they seem" aspect to it. The greatness of the documentary is the message that "real" wealth in life comes in different forms, not just perceived material possessions. The outside doesn't necessarily reflect what's going on beneath the surface. After several viewings of the documentary, it's impossible to have pity for big and little Edie. They had wealth where it counted, in humor, intelligence, feeling, character and for each other.

GREY GARDENS with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange is a beautiful and deeply moving tribute to a couple of women whose lives might have been forgotten if it weren't for a couple of documentary filmmakers. Handsomely directed and paced by Michael Sucsy, the film resonates so many feelings that only the hardened will not be moved.

At times it is difficult not to compare and judge the performances of Lange and Barrymore with the real Big and Little Edie Beale, especially for those of us overly familiar with the documentary. Oddly enough some of the best scenes in the film are in the early years. If in moments Lange and Barrymore fail to completely live up to an exact interpretation of the Beales, they immediately redeem themselves with the conviction, understanding and love they have for the women and the material. The performances by Lange, Barrymore and Jeanne Tripplehorn will move and surprise you. The film honors, respects and celebrates it's subjects and like the documentary, it touches something deep down.

It reminds all of us that wealth comes in different forms and that true wealth is the loyalty two people can have for each other.

When watching Grey Gardens, I was drawn in from the first minute of the movie. Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange were unbelievable and their acting is in true fine form. I've always thought Jessica Lange was a phenomenal actress and her performance in this movie is the finest work she has done in years.

Though I've always liked Drew Barrymore, I've never considered her a "serious" actress. Until now. This is the best acting she has ever done. She ought to receive a golden globe and Emmy for her performance in this movie.

I was so intrigued by watching Grey Gardens, I watched the original documentary on YouTube right after, and then watched the movie all over again. It's uncanny how dead on their portrayals are of Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale.

Watch this movie!