Savage Grace

Having seen quite a few films produced by Christine Vachon, I recognised a similar aesthetic in this film. Vachon's films often portray unconventional sexuality or other challenging social themes, but in a stylised way that is more accessible to wider audiences than grittier art-house films. This film would make a terrific companion piece to Christophe Honoré's Ma mère, as it tackles similarly challenging themes, though it is based on a true story and is much more digestible for audiences. The parallels between these stories are remarkable.

Julianne Moore is an actress I admire and takes top billing. Her performance was as good as usual, portraying Barbara Daly Baekeland, wife of the Bakelite heir. Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of her homosexual son was for me the stand-out performance. The film is set in various countries - the US, France, Spain and England - and the visuals are excellent. It takes a while to get a handle on where the film wants to take us, but it culminates in a chilling end. Worth seeing for the brave risks it takes and succeeds in delivering.

The Melbourne International Film Festival screening I attended was introduced by the director, Tom Kalin.

The idle rich are boring, which is why the movie is paced so slowly. The subject matter, based on truth is shocking because it is real and sick. You can see where this is going early on, but somehow, it's like a car accident. You don't want to watch but you do? Those of us who don't have money would like to think money cures problems, but as this material shows, if you're sick, you're sick. I thought the actors did a good job portraying their characters. When these things happen to ordinary people, they're statistics. When they happen to rich people, they become the material for books and movies.

Very dark subject matter, played out very frankly, which makes this all the more disturbing.

None of these rich, idle people induce much empathy. Self-absorbed and shallow, the father Brooks (Stephen Dillane), the son Antony (Eddie Redmayne), and the mother Barbara (Julianne Moore) go about their lives with nary a care in the world. Yet, they manage to inflict unhappiness on each other in ways that test the limits of family love.

Complex human relationships with a tendency toward destructive behavior form the premise of "Savage Grace", a true-life story of the Baekeland family, heir to the Bakelite plastic fortune. The film's plot begins in 1946 when Antony is a baby. The plot ends with the shocking climax, in 1972.

Curiously aloof and standoffish, the film suffers from an unfortunate structure. Snippets of their family life allow us to peek in at odd moments between 1946 and 1972. We see them as they jet-set their way through Spain, Italy, and France, and hobnob with the rich and famous. At one point, Barbara, a socialite and former model, concedes a sense of apathy and boredom. "To say that one is tired of Paris is in fact to say that one is tired of life".

But because the plot spans 26 years, viewers must fill in the story gaps as best they can. Though I'm not one for lots of exposition, some added dialogue could have helped the narrative to flow better. As is, the story comes across as disjointed and at times confusing. Viewers must exercise patience to see where this slow, meandering story is leading.

The film's technical elements, including acting, are fine. The main problem is the script, and in particular the plot structure. Still, the film instructs us on how life can disintegrate for people with too much time on their hands and no sense of responsibility. That money can't buy happiness may be a cliché, but this story affirms it, at least for one very dysfunctional family that thought that it could.

I'm a fan of "Swoon" I loved the semi documentary approach at another, true, high society horror story. In "Swoon" the distance the director took from his subject helped us to understand and to involve ourselves in the twisted mind of the protagonists. In "Savage Grace" it works the opposite way. I needed to be closer I needed to be taken step by step in any way you want it but step by step. The shrill performance by Julianne Moore didn't give me and 8th of what Judy Davis gave me in "A Little Thing called Murder" Here you're on your own. No sense of period or class no dramatic structure and feeble performances. What a pity. I had waited for this film with feverish anticipation.

When I was growing up, my mother could be a little over involved in my life but she's got nothing on Barbara Baekeland (Julianne Moore). SAVAGE GRACE tells Barbara's story and that of her incalculable influence on the direction of her very tight family. Together, Barbara, Brooks (Stephen Dillane) and Tony (Barney Clark as a boy, Eddie Redmayne as an adult), exist in a tiny bubble where they can be seen by and perform for the rest of the world but ultimately exist solely for each other. Rich beyond their own comprehension, the Baekeland's exude an air of arrogance and thrive on the act of acting. And even though, as the years pass on, the friends, acquaintances and passersby will have run far away, the Baekeland's still have us.

The Baekeland's come from money. Well, at least Brooks does. His father was the inventor of Bakelite, a popular plastic. Barbara, a former model and almost famous actress, married into the fortune and it suited her just fine to do nothing but be seen. With no real drama to occupy their time, the Baekeland's must create their own and they become experts in the craft. And like the entirely selfish parents they are, they teach their young son, Tony, everything they know. First time feature filmmaker and brave soul, Tom Kalin, tells their revolting yet tragic story in a manner that neither glorifies nor condemns their demented ways. All the while though, he centers his attention on Tony so that we never forget who the real victim is. This makes it all the more deplorable when Tony abandons reason to embrace his family heritage.

SAVAGE GRACE is not for all. Make no mistake, when I say that the Baekeland's ruin each other and bring about all of their own misfortune, I am not speaking lightly. This is a family that shares baths, beds and lovers. Kalin is mindful of his audience's likely discomfort but also never afraid to show that audience the dirty details. Besides, when all the debauchery becomes too much to handle, one can always look to Moore and bask in her brilliance. Moore is flippant one moment and affected the next. Her performance is so delicately balanced between calculated control and callous chaos that one never knows which way she'll turn and one is always shocked to find out. Both Dillane (who is practically unrecognizable) and Redmayne (who could so easily be related to Moore in reality with his pale, freckled skin) do more than simply hold their own. They complete the trio and it is a delight to watch them play off of each other, albeit a disturbing delight.

Kalin has not only crafted an engaging film but also a bizarre experience. If you can stomach this true story, then you will be treated to a frankness that is not common in American cinema. You will also get to spend time in dark places you may not be accustomed to. However, when you inevitably arrive safely on the other side, you will know the drastic differences in what it means to be fortunate.