Customer Reviews

Grey Gardens

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a HUGE fan of "Grey Gardens", I was skeptical of whether this film would be cringe inducing or tolerable. Jessica Lange is a truly GREAT actress, but I could not imagine how even she would be able to pull off Big Edie. The real worry, however, was Drew Barrymore. I've always liked Drew Barrymore, but did not think she had the acting chops to pull this off.

Gladly, I was wrong on all accounts!!!

Jessica Lange is phenomenal, and Drew Barrymore is incredible as Little Edie!! Further, the direction, costumes, music, sets, cinematography, makeup, raccoons, and cats were all spot on. I found myself astonished throughout at what a happy, successful surprise this film was. I cannot wait to purchase the DVD with the hope of many extras (I hope). How about commentary, a house tour, etc. I've always been dubious of the term "instant classic", but I think this film will become as much of a cult classic as the originals....campy, touching, beautiful. Thanks to everyone involved.

It is a rare thing to see a performance where a star is so immersed in a character that the star completely disappears and you are faced with a real living breathing character. This is pure magic when it happens. It happened with Vivien Leigh in "A Streetcar Named Desire." It happened with Elizabeth Taylor in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" And it happens in HBO'S stunningly good "Grey Gardens", not once but twice.

The performances by Jessica Lang as Edith Bouvier Beal is a testament to her immense talent and a reminder of just how far she has come since she slipped from King Kong's fingers into our consciousness. This performance is one that should garner awards galore and be studied for years to come by aspiring actors. This is a masterwork by a great star.

Then there is Miss Barrymore. Born of a towering and legendary acting family she has shown us in the past just how astonishingly good she can be. But listen boys, batten down the hatches for the approaching storm that will wrench your heart from your body like a tin roof off a barn in a hurricane. As Edie Beal Drew Barrymore is a thrilling, revelatory, spectacle, a shear joy to behold and so utterly heartbreaking. This is the best work she has ever done and puts her beyond her ancestors as the greatest Barrymore in the dynasty.

And buried in the midst of these two towering performances one must not neglect the brilliant, lovely and gentle work by Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jackie Kennedy. Her work here is wonderful. Miss Tripplehorn is indeed with her work on HBO's "Big Love" and here in this film fulfilling her youthful promise as an actress and coming into her own in her middle years.

The thing of the matter is that these two wonderful actresses meld into the women in the story so convincingly that if you have seen the original documentary you will think you are seeing the real Beals. A great film, a touching and deeply moving story, a film that should be admired and treasured for the masterpiece it is.

i have to admit that when i first heard of this film being produced i was more than skeptical. i thought it was going to be insane to try to reproduce the original documentary film. but the "reproduced" scenes from the original "grey gardens" are mesmerizing and have been executed with astonishing pinpoint accuracy. there are also flashback scenes to fill in the holes in the story line of the life that these two women shared.

both drew barrymore and jessica lange are dead on in their portrayals of big and little edie.

Grey Gardens is simply amazing. What an excellent film and Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore give excellent performances. There were a lot of naysayers of Drew's that said that she couldn't pull it off. I'm glad she proved them all wrong. I've been a fan of Drew's for many, many, years and was so glad she went after this role, got it, and did an brilliant performance (which I knew she would).

I've already watched it about five times now. :)

Let the awards season begin. lol

Now I want to watch the documentaries and read the books. Fascinating!

Highly recommended!

Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange are simply astounding in the roles of the famous Beale women who lived in Grey Gardens. Beyond a mere caricature, both women live in this roles and bring out the truth and humanity of this two women that is so true to life. This has to be one of Barrymore's most powerful roles yet. She proves any naysayers wrong and proves that she is indeed heir apparent to the legacy of her famous acting family. Jeane Tripplehorn surprises as Jackie O. with a warm and brilliant performance.

I've seen "Grey Gardens" about 4 times,and I still want to see it again.I went to youtube to watch the Documentary,and was amazed how the film is true to life of Big and Little Edie,and the house.Drew Barrymore is superb.I've always been a fan of her movies,but "Grey Gardens"has taken her acting to another playing field. Jessica Lange is unreal,she is Big Edie.Lange sings,dances,and ages 40 years.If "Grey Gardens" was on the big Screen,everyone would get an Oscar.

I had seen the 2 documentaries, and was really skeptical and worried that the HBO movie would be a disappointment. I was so pleasantly surprised! The acting was impeccable. I had always thought that Drew Barrymore was more of a comic actress. I have a new respect for her after viewing this film. Of course, Jessica Lange is brilliant (as always) in every role she takes on. I highly recommend this movie. It will answer so many questions you have after watching the documentaries. You really get to know the women and their lives and what led up to them living in squalor. SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

Like many people, I was dubious, to say the least, at the idea of making a movie of the classic and unstoppable documentary "Grey Gardens". How could anyone add to the amazingly bizarre story of the Beales? As it turns out, this movie is almost a completion of the documentary, and it totally hinges on the Emmy worthy performances of Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore.

Cult classic hit, "Grey Gardens" shows us the glamorous dilapidation of Big and Little Edie Beale as it was in the early 1970's, as filmed by the Maysles brothers. Each one worthy of their own screen time, together the women feed and react off each other in lovely hostility, so much that you can't help but watch, especially on heartbreaking close-ups of Edie's run ridden stockings. Throughout the documentary, the women opine upon the past; tell stories of men long past, names to us, perhaps familiar.

What the HBO movie Grey Gardens does for us is bring to life these stories, and we learn more about these complex women that deepen and illuminate them. Drew Barrymore plays Little Edie from the tender age of eighteen a socialite with life ahead of her, much like she was in the documentary, without the haggardness and avant garde style. Her Edie is dead on from the start of the movie; you see her "staunch character" from the onset. Jessica Lange's Big Edie sings, guides her daughter to her eventual "reclusive" life of Grey Gardens. Both of their characters arcs are predetermined, but watching these two amazing actresses pull this off stuns the viewer.

A third character, both in the documentary as well as this film, is Grey Gardens herself; the famous run down mansion. Familiar from the documentary, with its sadly famous racoon eaten wall, the sets of the movie are painstakingly accurate and spooky in their own sense. The minute you see Grey Gardens in its heyday, back in the late 1930s, your jaw literally drops at the elegance of the Long Island abode, which makes the older version oh so much more painful. The house ages unwell with the Beales, right before our eyes.

What could have easily lapsed into camp, or mockery, Lange and Barrymore elevate the story to truth and honesty. Even in their reenactments of scenes from Grey Gardens, they maintain the honesty of the moment, such as the real Beales did. The complexity of performance demands more than just an HBO TV viewing, but should have been considered for the big screen (much like HBO's other amazing opus )

Whatever you may think of the Beales, Americans have a fascination with the rich and famous, and perhaps even more fascination with their downfall. I suspect the Beales would deny a downfall at all; more like a setback, a setback to their eventual career in movies, entertainment, or whatever. Little would they know that their fame would come much later after their passing. And the HBO movie Grey Gardens will become an indelible part of the legacy from here on out.

HBO has outdone itself with this extraordinary character study of the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Onassis: Edith Bouvier Beale (Big Edie) and her daughter, also Edith Bouvier Beale, or 'Little Edie.' Their story is one of 'riches to rags,' chronicling their decline as their star-studded dreams and, once lavish lifestyles, become little more than fantasies, following 'Big Edie's' divorce and ensuing loss of social status and fortune.

While appearing somewhat oblivious, or perhaps in denial, of their situation, their East Hampton Estate is transformed into a refuge for cats, raccoons and vermin, not to mention feces and trash. Their caviar becomes cat food. They develop a self-isolating, hermit-like lifestyle, filling in the moments with bickering, depreciating comments and a dose of rivalry and grandiosity.

Within this backdrop, the dysfunction driving this mother, daughter relationship is vividly portrayed---and clearly one of love and hate. 'Big Edie' is a bitter, controlling, and passive dependent mother, who makes sure she keeps 'Little Edie' close to her side by feeding her frailties. This, at times, is hard to watch, appearing almost too voyeuristic, as these ladies spiral into an unreal world---one I feel was much more than just eccentric. I personally feel it became a shared madness. My heart ached for 'Little Edie.'

And, I'm just getting to the actors, now. You might wonder why, since I'm reviewing a movie---not a book, or the documentary. What about the actors, you say? Well, I think this is because Jessica Lange, as 'Big Edie' and Drew Barrymore, as 'Little Edie' brought their characters so to life, that I frequently forgot during the film that I was watching actors. I felt I was stealthily watching the real characters through a dingy window of the Estate. Their simple moments of joy became mine, as well as their pain. This is the first time I have ever become so enmeshed with characters that I completely forgot the actors portraying them, until it was over, and I could reflect upon the splendid job they had done. This is a testament to the quality of this movie---not only the acting, and costumes, but the setting. Yes, the setting was so well done you could almost smell the cat urine.

I'm recommending this movie to all of my friends. I suspect that women will enjoy it more, as my husband left about a third of the way through declaring it a 'chick movie.' But, I think anyone interested in the psychology of dysfunctional, relational dynamics, will be mesmerized. I know I'm placing the Documentary on my Wish List. I'm not quite finished studying this family.

This HBO telemovie was obviously made with a lot care and attention to details.The casting was pure genius,the costumes were superb and i paticularly enjoyed the recreation of the Grey Gardens mansion.
Jessica Lange really channeled Big Eddie,she was flawless and has always been one of my favourites.
Drew Barrymore,also one of my favourites,was good and obviously tried very hard to capture Little Eddie'spirit.

Nevertheless i stll felt that she was missing that sparkle and zaniness that Little Eddie displayed so much of.
Also i feel that this movie is best appreciated if you already have seen the documentaries otherwise you really cannot grasp the special bond that these two women had.
I also felt that the script was rather simplistic and predictable and perhaps the singing by Jessica Lange should have been dubbed,after all Big Eddie was a very good singer(as she likes to remind us in the documentary).But i cannot blame Jessica for trying, she truly gave it her all.
After all is said and done it was a great effort on all parts.