I probably shouldn’t have watched this movie in my current condition; crying is painful. This movie was a tribute to two reclusive socialites related to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith ‘Edie’ Bouvier Beale have a supposedly perfect life as the wife and daughter of a prestigious New York Lawyer in the 1930’s. They summer in East Hampton at their family house, Grey Gardens.
Each woman has aspirations that are seemingly unobtainable based on their social status. Edith has always valued her voice and longs to be center stage singing; similarly, Edie wants to dance and act on Broadway. Phelan Beale, the patriarch has other ideas for the women in his family. He is portrayed as a conservative, philanderer who has never understood his wives need for singing; and he certainly doesn’t believe his debutante daughter should be performing on the stage.
In 1936, Phelan Beale asks his wife Edith for a divorce. He puts the boys in boarding school and takes Edie to New York with hopes that she will meet someone to marry. After finding out about Edie’s love affair with a married man, Mr. Beale sends Edie back to East Hampton. From this point on, the women are put on a very low allowance and things around the house begin to deteriorate. When Phelan Beale dies in 1956, the son’s ask Edith to sell Grey Gardens because they can’t afford the up-keep. She refuses. Grey Gardens continues to deteriorate, while the women become more demented.
Although these women were considered strange and a bit crazy, they had something special about them that attracted a film crew to do a documentary on their lives in 1973. The combination of dementia and denial of failed lives makes these two women magnetic. Even though you feel sorry for the two female Beales, you also see their courage, compassion and love. Their surroundings are decrepit and they blame each other for their misfortune, but they still support each other.
I never saw the 1973 documentary that shows the actual Beale women. But, Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange do an excellent job of enticing me to find out more about this mother-daughter duo. I felt sad when Edie’s relationship failed, and empathetic when Edith’s relationship with her pianist ended. It doesn’t take much to make me cry…but I believed that Drew and Jessica were these women. I forgot that they were two famous actresses on the screen. It made me think about the house I’m currently living in, and how quickly it could deteriorate if there was no one to pay for the leaking pipes, or the broken screen door. Perhaps the original documentary directors meant to contrast the damaged house with the damaged occupants?
Each woman has aspirations that are seemingly unobtainable based on their social status. Edith has always valued her voice and longs to be center stage singing; similarly, Edie wants to dance and act on Broadway. Phelan Beale, the patriarch has other ideas for the women in his family. He is portrayed as a conservative, philanderer who has never understood his wives need for singing; and he certainly doesn’t believe his debutante daughter should be performing on the stage.
In 1936, Phelan Beale asks his wife Edith for a divorce. He puts the boys in boarding school and takes Edie to New York with hopes that she will meet someone to marry. After finding out about Edie’s love affair with a married man, Mr. Beale sends Edie back to East Hampton. From this point on, the women are put on a very low allowance and things around the house begin to deteriorate. When Phelan Beale dies in 1956, the son’s ask Edith to sell Grey Gardens because they can’t afford the up-keep. She refuses. Grey Gardens continues to deteriorate, while the women become more demented.
Although these women were considered strange and a bit crazy, they had something special about them that attracted a film crew to do a documentary on their lives in 1973. The combination of dementia and denial of failed lives makes these two women magnetic. Even though you feel sorry for the two female Beales, you also see their courage, compassion and love. Their surroundings are decrepit and they blame each other for their misfortune, but they still support each other.
I never saw the 1973 documentary that shows the actual Beale women. But, Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange do an excellent job of enticing me to find out more about this mother-daughter duo. I felt sad when Edie’s relationship failed, and empathetic when Edith’s relationship with her pianist ended. It doesn’t take much to make me cry…but I believed that Drew and Jessica were these women. I forgot that they were two famous actresses on the screen. It made me think about the house I’m currently living in, and how quickly it could deteriorate if there was no one to pay for the leaking pipes, or the broken screen door. Perhaps the original documentary directors meant to contrast the damaged house with the damaged occupants?
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