This is the true rags-to-riches story of “Big Edie” (Jessica Lange) and “Little Edie” (Drew Barrymore) Bouvier Beale, two charming eccentrics, relatives of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and inhabitants of Grey Gardens, a decaying mansion in the Hamptons.

CRITIQUE

In the recent Emmy Awards, Grey Gardens took home the statuettes for Best Television Movie, Best Actress in a Television Movie (Jessica Lange) and Best Supporting Actor in a Television Movie (Ken Howard), and it was nominated in several other categories.

Inspired by a documentary produced by the Maysles brothers thirty-five years ago, this disturbing drama tells the sad, true tale of a mother and daughter who eschewed reality in favor of living in their own little world of Oz, even as it crumbled around them.  

It is also the story of how a mother’s uncanny hold on her daughter can destroy that child’s life.

“Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale live the luxurious life during the 1930s until Big Edie’s husband, Phelan Beale (Howard), decides that he’s had enough of his wife’s elaborate party giving and leaves her. 

Little Edie, in the meantime, runs off to New York, hoping for a career as an actress, but after a love affair with a married man goes wrong, the distraught girl flees the city for the sanctuary of Grey Gardens. It is there that she and her mother remain for the rest of their lives.

As the money in their trust funds is exhausted, Big Edie still refuses to sell Grey Gardens, choosing to live in the once palatial home that is now filled with vermin and dozens of cats.

More than anything else, what makes this film a must-see are Lange and Barrymore, who both deliver the performances of their careers.  These women are amazing, believably playing characters who age over a span of forty years. 

It’s a shame that the Best Actress Emmy could not have been divided this year, because Ms. Barrymore, who we are used to seeing in inane romantic comedies, has now proved herself to be worthy of her legendary family’s name.

Director and co-writer (with Patricia Rozema) Michael Sucsy is to be commended for an amazing recreation of a part of the Kennedy “Camelot” that that clan would prefer to forget.

THE VIDEO

The 16:9 picture is crisp, sharp and there are no apparent flaws.

THE AUDIO

The 5.1 Sound is crystal clear. No problems.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary with executive producers Michael Sucsy, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Rachael Horovitz is very informative.

Grey Gardens: Then and Now compares and contrasts the feature-length film and the original 1975 documentary.  It includes interviews with Albert Maysles, Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, director Michael Sucsy and others.

FINAL THOUGHT

Grey Gardens is a fascinating, albeit depressing, story, but it contains not-to-be-missed performances by Ms. Barrymore and Ms. Lange.