Grey Gardens

I’d been introduced to ‘Grey Gardens’ by a lovely flight-mate of mine, on one seemingly never-ending transcontinental red-eye. Somehow we got to speaking about the film ‘Grey Gardens’ and what it was about; I was immediately in awe and fascinated beyond questionable doubt. It was filmed in 1975 and directed by brothers, Albert and David Maysles; there were mixed reviews, but I knewI’d have a review of my own! My flight mate shared some clips with me and I couldn’t stop thinking about Edith and little Edie Beale living alone in that decaying house in the East Hamptons. Even though it was tremendously unusual, I wanted to see more. My next days off, I made it my duty to pay a visit to my library and get access to both the 1975 documentary as well as the 2009 Hollywood version starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, adapted by Michael Sucsy.

The documentary I found quite bizarre in many ways, finding it terribly unbelievable that women from such affluent and enamored lifestyles could fall so far beneath the radar. Where did all their friends go? And whatever happened to their beautiful minds? Cousins of Jackie Onassis and educated at the finest schools, it was astonishing to see them decomposing along with their house, bickering amongst each other and sharing ice-cream and cat food while raccoons and cats scuttled about them. It was a joke! It must be! And although it was jarring and mind-boggling, I found myself captivated from beginning till end.

The Maysles brothers were ahead of their time. They brought to the world the first bit of ‘reality television’ in film format. And this was truly reality; it wasn’t botox lips, breasts, bums and brains like what’s brought to you by the Kardashians. It wasn’t people jumping out of planes or racing around the world to win money. No! ‘Grey Gardens’ had heart, and mystery, and disparaging love all in one. Of mother and daughter who had it all, and lost it all, and with that, losing their minds as well, because once what was so beautiful and bright turned into a dungeon of despair and solitude. And peeking through were glimpses of splendor, of expressions eloquent and whizzing in nostalgia as did the autumn leaves and unruly ferns flying about them.

And then there was the Hollywood version. Well. I must say; I haven’t had a cry quite as warm as I had as this one, in some time now. How charming it was, how cruel the world seemed to Little Edie, and how much sense it made to its audience. Sure they were eccentric and diminished their money, but there was a reason why it all happened. There’s always a reason, isn’t there? What happens to people who don’t get to fulfill their dreams? What happens to someone who is afraid to live their dreams? And constantly make excuses because they don’t think they’re good enough? It’s an entrapment that engages, where one is never able to evolve and soar as they’re meant to be.

The mother-daughter relationship was a tender one, as they were the ones that stayed together and although they were clearly losing their shine, they stood by each other through thick and thin. It was a bond and love that bring other love-stories to shame. What love indeed! One you don’t see too often, I’d say. And as they say, ‘true glamour never fades’, so holds also ‘true love’. 

The transformation of the houses and women, held true to the original and the soundtrack and added back-story added wonderful depth and meaning to the cult documentary, that has inspired fashion designers, film-makers since it first hit the silver screen.Truly a work of art, the spirit of these late women, Edith Bouvier Beale and ‘Little Edie’, and their real struggles as well as the spot-on interpretation of true events by Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore whom most certainly deserved their 20 film nominations and 18 wins.