Grey Gardens

The story of Little Eddie and Big Eddie Bouvier Beale, the mother and daughter who lived their isolated lives in the once-flourishing Long Island estate called ´Grey Gardens´, is to be reproduced again. After a documentary, a Broadway musical, and few other projects, this time it will come as the new HBO movie. What is it that makes Grey Gardens so fascinating? Is it the enchanting tale of two women mirroring the decay of aristocracy into squalor, a saga of bad luck coupled with bad choices, or the complex mother-daughter relationship evolving into a compelling drama? Or is it all of these.

First-time director Michael Sucsy´s feature film version of ´Grey Gardens´ provides a background to the mother-daughter story, which came to light because Big Eddie was a cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Jackie´s relatives living in an old torn-down house with no electricity and amidst rats: that definitely had to become a tabloid story.

The film begins with Edith, and Eddie sitting in their East Hampton house Grey Gardens and watching a documentary on them that would make them legends. The year is 1975. And then, cut. It is 1936, and young Eddie wants to be a singer and an actress. Edith advices her to marry a rich man who will take care of her and will allow her to build her career. Eddie is not convinced. She had seen her father Phelan Beale crush Edith´s dreams of becoming a singer. Edith now stays at her family summer home Grey Gardens along with her music teacher Gould, while Phelan lives separately in the city.

Eddie leaves Hampton for Manhattan with hopes and dreams of making it big at Broadway. But she is forced to return to Grey Gardens after Gould leaves and Edith finds that her daughter is dating a married man. Remorse for missed opportunities disturbs her already fragile psyche, and she blames her mother for interfering in her life. But, in the documentary as well as the film, it is clearly suggested that Eddie was herself responsible for her own plight. If she really wanted to make her career and get away from Edith, she really could have.

Eddie was courted by Joseph Jr. Kennedy before he was killed in the second world war. Her later relationships were dead-ends leading her to nowhere except the psychological mortification symbolized by the physical decadence around her in Grey Gardens.  The Beales continued to live in the house even after Phelan´s trust fund went empty. Jacqueline did renovate the place, but when authorities checked the Beale mansion, it was falling apart and was full of racoons and stray cats, a place not fit for human habitation.

The Beale Mansion

Portraying the mother-daughter duo in the new production are two powerhouse actresses, Jessica Lange (Edith) and Drew Barrymore (Eddie). Lange is perfect as Big Eddie, and Barrymore is convincing both as the 18-year-old as well as the 57-year-old Eddie.

The 1975 Maysles brothers’ documentary, which made the Beales and their home a sort of cult fascination, and the HBO production have tried not to present Edith and Eddie as objects of pity. Some may be inspired by the strength of will that overcomes severe economic and financial misery. But every time the story is retold, we know there is nothing new to expect but the sadness that recurs throughout the depiction.

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