Grey Gardens (1975) Review - Documentary

Plot Summary - Documentary about oddly unusual mother and daughter "Big Edie" and "Little Edie", aunt and cousin of Jackie O, who live almost isolated away in "Grey Gardens", their rundown mansion in East Hampton. The two women, both Edith Bouvier Beale, are both somewhat eccentric, especially the daughter. Older Edie is approaching eighty years old, is mainly seen from her bed - covered with cats and clutter - and talking about her years as a trained singer - sometimes she breaks out in song. Little Edie, mid-fifties, never married, and distinguished for her wide variety of extremely odd headdresses she wears throughout the entire film - assembled from scarves, and more often blouses and sweaters, hooked and decorated with pins, often speaks of her lost life stuck in East Hampton for over twenty years (pretty much blaming mama), she seems full of regrets, yet it appears that it was really her own choices that lead to this all along. She often dances, sings, and flirts into the camera (and yes, even flirts briefly with the men filming the documentary - barely seen, but you hear them speak sometimes to the women). The two women often talk over each other, argue a lot, yet seem to be totally bonded. The house they live in is huge, very rundown (apparently less than it was a few years back), and is just full of cats and some raccoons too.

Review - This film is bizarre and totally fascinating, I really enjoyed watching this! I feel like the mom is just getting old and perhaps a bit cranky and demanding of her daughter - the daughter is really the one with perhaps some mental problems, yet like her too - Little Edie has such a vulnerability about her, she is a very interesting character. The film is entirely filmed in the great old house, the camera constantly focusing on the women - often in facial close-ups so you really see the emotions coming through on their faces. One part I enjoyed was seeing the women show the filmmakers old photographs of themselves, both of them were once beautiful young women living the society lifestyle - young Edie described in an old newspaper clipping as a beautiful deb that writes poetry. The women, yes, are rather strange, but you just have to love them - I enjoyed spending time with these two. Rating - 10/10 stars