Grey Gardens -- controversial documentary masterpiece

"Two roads diverged in yellow woods,
and pondering one, I took the other,
and that made all the difference."
- Little Edie, misquoting the Robert Frost poem: The Road Not Taken

Regret and the 'what could have beens' are what most ponder several times their lives. We are immersed in the fantasies, hopes, dreams, regrets, and a serio-comic tragic realities of two once rich aristocratic women in the unforgettable documentary masterpiece Grey Gardens

It is funny, extremely depressing, memorable and it explores almost by accident: mother/daughter relationships, co-dependency, and decaying aristocracy.

"The hallmark of aristocracy is responsibility." - Little Edie

The film was first released in November 1976 after making a few film festival appearances. It developed a cult following. Several film critics and audience members were disgusted by the film. It was criticized by some for being an exploitive messenger exposing the the eccentric Aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis who lived in a fily decaying mansion amongs the rich in exclusive East Hampton, New York.

Never mind, that the Beales in focused profile were not actually suffering or being exploited by the filmmakers at all—but perhaps were actually manipulating the filmmakers. Some of the critics seemed to object more to their own fear of aging then to what was in the film itself.

Grey Gardens developed a strong cult following and in the early 1980s poor quality bootleg copies on video-tape kept the film alive in certain circles. In 2001, the Mayslies restored and re-released the film. Recently, Criterion has released the film on DVD.

”I'm pulverized by this latest thing!” --Little Edie

Albert and David Maysles had been making documentaries (both short and full length features, for over a decade before Grey Gardens. They covered the BEATLES FIRST U.S. VISIT in 1963, they made Salesman and Gimme Shelter (capturing a violent murder by the Hell’s Angels as the Rolling Stones played at the Altamont Music Fesitval). They shot Monterrey Pop, conducted film intereviews with rock and roll legends, sports figures and more.

This film project began when two Bouvier sister, Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis and Lee Radziwell approached the Maysles with the proposition of making a movie about their family, the Bouviers. As they considered the idea, Jackie and Lee talked about their eccentric Aunt and Cousin who lived almost like hermits in the wealthy neighborhood of EAST HAMPTON, New York. The sisters remained in contact by phone with their Aunt and cousin but they had not seen them for several years. The Maysles should go and shoot some film in East Hampton of the eccentric relatives. They found Big Edith and Little Edie living in a decaying old estate with nine cats, and fleas in unsanitary conditions. The Bouvier’s were horrified by the footage they saw and confiscated it. No one should ever see this.

The Maysles decided they wanted to do a film about Edith and Edie and they shot 70 hours worth of film over many months and took over a year shaping and editing the film. It would take up nearly three years of their lives from the start of the project to its premiere.

If you haven’t seen the film, I suggest you read only a few more paragraphs of this review and then go and rent or even buy the DVD.

No, I'm not ready; I have no makeup on... but things are getting better! --Little Edie

Seeing this movie for the first time is an experience that leaves most very conflicted. There is no denying the film is powerful but you may not quite know how to take it. Perhaps the portrait is too intimate, too revealing. Can you view the film as some kind of bizarre high camp even though it is about two real people? The eccentric behavior of the 80 year old mother and 56 year old daughter is unique, comical, and bizarre--their life story compelling, but ultimately very sad. We watch as we might view a work of performance art—but it’s a document that explores very real lives, exposing fantasies, hopes, dreams and relationships with an unflinching honesty you have rarely witnessed.

I think if you watch this film knowing that Edith and Edie were fully aware of what they were doing and that Little Edie approved and embraced the final film, you will stop yourself from forming the inaccurate cynical opinion that any kind of negative exploitation occurred. (She was at one of the films' premiered and thanked the audience for their attendance, answering questions from them. Many of the scenes may be uncomfortable to watch—and they should be—but the filmmakers were not taking advantage of Edith and Edie—if anything, Edie was taking advantage and basking a bit in the limelight she craved. This movie wound up giving her a bit of celebrity, she influenced several fashion designer with her unique and original fashion sense (which you will see in the movie and learn more about in the DVD extras), and she wound up in a much better place.

Okay, if you haven’t seen the movie, I strongly suggest you do not deprive yourself of the experience of this film and let it come at you without knowing too much about it or others' perspectives and opinions about it. If you are slightly interested in seeing the movie—get it and watch it and read my review another time. Be patient with it. We do not have a conventional story narrative. The story of mother and daughter is told to us in bits and pieces, through conversations about scrap-book pictures and in sharp, sometimes cruel arguments the women have with each other.

The rest read on . . .

We see newspaper stories (read them quickly as they appear on screen) about GREY GARDENS, the house Edith Beale and her daughter Edie live in almost like recluses. The authorities of East Hampton have given the Beales an eviction notice, The County Health Department has decided it is too unsanitary for anyone to live in the filthy flea infested mansion. Money from Jackie Onasis keeps the electricity and water on, and enough of a clean-up takes place to fight the eviction.

There are few fictional or real life characters as flamboyant, unique and memorable as Little Edie. She is eccentric, vulnerable, crazy, craves attention, enjoys music, arguments, dancing, fashion modeling and poetry. She is also devoted to and controlled by her mother in a co-dependent and extremely honest relationship that is completely exposed by this film.


"The relatives didn't know that they were dealing with a staunch character." - Little Edie

The Maysles brothers become trusted flies on the walls to Edith Beales and her daughter. Like the house they live in, mother and daughter have been in a slow state of decay for several years. They do not leave the grounds, having their groceries delivered. There is a young handyman that does enough gardening work to fight back the over-grown vines and bushes so that there are paths on the property that little Edie can walk down to the beach on.

Mostly, mother and daughter live in one large room of the 28 room mansion. They have a small refrigerator/freezer, and they have a hot plate. They sing along to old records (some of them made in the 1930s by Big Edith), they listen to radio programs like Norman Vincent Peale, they argue and tease each other. They take care of nine cats who go to bathroom on newspapers and sometimes not. Little Edie likes to dress up in unique outfits. She creates scarf like head coverings out of towels, sweaters, skirts and other pieces of cloth. Her fashion sense is unique, different, but somewhat glamorous and fashionable.

”If you can't get a man to propose to you, you might as well be dead.” Little Edie

Through their conversations we learn about their lives. Big Edith married a very rich man. She wanted to be famous singer and managed to entertain at society events and even cut some records, but her husband frowned on the pursuit of a life in show business. Little Edie wanted to be a model and a dancer. She was a stunningly beautiful young lady. She had many proposals from handsome rich men, but refused to get married. She went to New York City, tried to be a show-girl, had an affair with a married man, auditioned for some shows and revues and at some point in the 1950s returned back home to Grey Gardens partially to take care of her mother who was now divorced and struggling with finances.

Little Edie reading from an Astrology book: The Libra husband is reasonable. He is a born judge, and no other zodiacal type can order his life with so much wisdom. Pause…then: " God! That's all I need: order! That's all I need: an ordered life. You know, a manager. But he's GOT to be a Libran. --Little Edie

We are with them 20 years later. They tell the Maysles and us their story in bits and piece. They sing, they dance, they model clothes, they argue and they give us a tour of the house. We see the family of raccoons that have moved in are tearing down one of the walls in a rarely used room of the house. Little Edie loves animals and feeds them Wonder Bread and boxes of dry cat-food.

”I can't stand being in this house. In the first place, it makes me terribly nervous. I'm scared to death of doors, locks, people roaming around in the background, under the trees, in the bushes, I'm absolutely terrified.” Little Edie

We learn about house-guests and possible lovers of Edith and wonder if Little Edie has had any male friends of her own in the last 20 years. She seems at times very shy and at other times a complete flirt with an obvious crush on Albert Maysles. She seems almost frail, then she winds up swimming in the ocean looking like a former Olympic athlete. She seems self-deluded and living in a fantasy world one moment and then completely aware the next.

There is a small dinner party that occurs and for that one evening, Big Edith comes out of her room and makes her way downstairs to the dining room. She is frail and it is perhaps the last time she will come out of her room and socialize with others, but she basks in the moment, accepting a birthday phone call from a young relation and a gift from visiting neighbors.

Throughout this revealing and depressing portrait there are unique phrases of dialogue that are ironic, witty, and sarcastic. You’ll find yourself wanting to write down and quote many of the outrageous things Little Edie says. She speaks with an almost arrogant upper class North Eastern accent. Little Edie greeting the Maysles at the door saying: “We aren’t ready,. . . come on in.”

You slowly realize how deeply these women love and care for each other. How because they are different and artistic they do not fit into the class of society they were part of for a period of a time. How they need each other and how their bickering and sometimes cruel arguments keeps them sharp and vibrantly alive.

The film has been shot all hand-held, so you might think it remarkable how many beautifully composed shots are here. I’ll never forget how the passing of the mirror from mother to daughter is framed. How little Edie who refuses to wear glasses uses opera glasses to read the scale, the panoramic styled views of the estates surrounding the over-grown and decaying Grey Gardens’ property or how little Edie’s dance is shot through the banisters as if she is a bird in a cage.

Remember, after the credits, as the color bars appear on your television screen you are in for another treat-- A conversation between Albert Maysles and Little Edie. It is from a phone call made in late 2000 or early 2001. Little Edie who lives in Florida is obviously hard of hearing and talks about the recent Florida election upset (Gore/Bush) and her crush on Albert M.

It is no accident that the film was edited by two women, Ellen Hoyde and Muffie Meyer who rightly share co-director credit. They molded the 90 minute film from over 70 hours of shot footage and several hours of wild audio tracks. They shaped the footage shot by the Maysles into a stunning character study of two unforgettable women. Their contributions to the film are nearly as essential as the Maysles brothers in making Grey Gardens the masterpiece it is.


I only cared about three things: the Catholic Church, swimming and dancing, and I had to give them up.—Little Edie

DVD QUALITY
The film is somewhat grainy but the transfer on the Criterion DVD is clear, the black levels strong. We can see the details of scrapbook pictures, notes clearly and it is easy to quickly read the newspaper articles. The audio is just a 2.0 mono track but is clear and free from any distracting noises.

EXTRAS:
Criterion has included several extras of interest. I highly recommend you listen to the film commentary conducted by co-directors and editors Ellen Hoyde, Muffie Meyer and associate producer Susan Froemke along with Albert Maysles. You’ll get some insights into the documentary making process, learn some additional information about the subjects of the film and toward the end get an update of what happened after the film until the present.

You will also find an audio excerpt from a 1976 audio interview little Edie conducted for INTERVIEW magazine by Kathryn G. Graham.

There are also brief filmed interviews with fashion designers Todd Oldham and John Bartlett. They discuss and show how Edie directly influenced color combinations and fashion ideas.

There are trailers and over 40 vintage scrapbook photos and nearly 100 production stills collected for the DVD.


*The Road Not Taken (excerpt)
By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And loods down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

….
Two roads diverged in a wood and I—
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.