GREY GARDENS (1975)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
"Grey Gardens" takes place in a largely decrepit Easthampton, NY 28-room mansion where Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Little Edie, reside. Edith and Edie mostly sleep in the same room where they keep a radio - their only real communication to the outside world. Newspapers litter their beds, though Edie keeps her bed made for the most part. Their diet consist of canned goods - Mrs. Beale mostly eats corn. Cats are everywhere, as is their urine. The attic has a large hole in the wall where Edie feed slices of Wonder Bread to the raccoons. The kitchen has counters with mounds of dust and who knows what else. And this is the mansion at its best, it was declared unlivable and a health hazard at one time until the Beales cleaned it up, somewhat.
The strange aspect of "Grey Gardens" is that Mrs. Beale and her daughter are related to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. You think they would ask for financial assistance but they are too stubborn and rebellious - the Beales are separate from what society expects of them. They wallow in filth and yet they are having a ball, to some degree. Mrs. Beale probably accepts that she will die in that mansion. Edie wants out but feels a responsibility to care for her ailing mother. Still, as she declares briefly, "I can't spend another winter at Grey Gardens." This documentary is like watching ghosts who have been forgotten and are living in isolation in an abandoned house.
"Grey Gardens" is not a comfortable viewing experience but it is an enlightening, poetic film due in part to the two women's discussions, rants, and raves and their desire to see some measure of optimism in their future. Mrs. Beale doesn't want the glamorous, beautiful pictures of yesteryear shown - she would rather forget the past. Edie insists on showing them, and sometimes she speaks in a whispering tone so her mother can't hear her - she wants to live in the present, not the past. Mrs. Beale sits outside on a lawn chair, taking in the sun, while Edie sunbathes on the beach. This is life in the mansion - separating their existence from the world that they are no longer a part of.
"Grey Gardens" is not exactly whimsical yet it is lyrical. The Maysles brothers have crafted an elegiac and bittersweet experience that is at odds with the norms and conventions of the typical documentary. It is sad yet uplifting, tragic yet strangely funny (no wonder this was later made into a Broadway musical). You won't soon forget Mrs. Beale or the singing Edie with her flowing skirts as she practices her dance moves in this deteriorating household. Yes, everything is falling apart yet they remain sane and stick to their fears, their longing to make amends, perhaps, and their desires. They want to escape the past, yet can't help but relive it in their hearts. A truly unique and heartfelt film.
