Grey Gardens | |
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Genre | Biographical drama |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | Michael Sucsy |
Directed by | Michael Sucsy |
Starring | |
Composer | Rachel Portman |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | David Coatsworth |
Cinematography | Mike Eley |
Editors |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
Production companies | |
Budget | $12 million [1] |
Original release | |
Network | HBO |
Release | April 18, 2009 |
Grey Gardens is a 2009 American biographical drama television film about the lives of Edith Bouvier "Little Edie" Beale, played by Drew Barrymore, and her mother Edith Ewing "Big Edie" Bouvier, played by Jessica Lange. Co-stars include Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jacqueline Kennedy, Little Edie's cousin, and Ken Howard as Phelan Beale, Little Edie's father. The film, directed by Michael Sucsy and co-written by Sucsy and Patricia Rozema, flashes back and forth between various events and dates ranging from Little Edie as a young débutante in 1936 moving with her mother to their Grey Gardens estate through the filming and premiere of the actual 1975 documentary Grey Gardens .
Filming began on October 22, 2007. [2] It premiered on HBO on April 18, 2009.
The film was nominated for 17 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning six including Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (for Lange) and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (for Howard). It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, winning two for Best Miniseries or Made for Television Movie and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film (for Barrymore). It was also nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, winning one (for Barrymore). The film also won the 2009 Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.
The film is based on the life stories of the eccentric paternal aunt and first cousin of Jackie Kennedy, both named Edith Bouvier Beale. The elder Edith Bouvier Beale was the sister of Jackie Kennedy's father John Vernou Bouvier III and was nicknamed "Big Edie" while her daughter was called "Little Edie". The Beale women were members of New York City's high society but in their later years they withdrew from city life, living at their Long Island summer home/estate Grey Gardens. The house fell into a state of disrepair that gave the Beale women notoriety.
Through flashbacks, we are shown the history of the family's move into the estate. Phelan Beale, husband of Big Edie and father of Little Edie, eventually divorced his wife. In the movie, Little Edie decides to move to New York to pursue a career in acting and an ill-fated romance with high-profile married man Julius "Cap" Krug. Her father tells her that she has to find a husband to support her lifestyle. Little Edie sadly and slowly realizes her fate is to remain her mother's companion at Grey Gardens. After Phelan dies, their two sons tell their mother that there is little money and she should sell the estate and move to Florida. Despite her son's attempt to help, Big Edie pridefully declares that the house is in her name, and that the only way she'll leave is if she dies. The two women become reclusive and known around town as the highly eccentric proprietors of the home, which has become decrepit and full of stray animals which are taken in by the Beale women. Because of this, the Suffolk County, New York health department comes with a warrant to inspect the mansion and see how it is overrun by cats, raccoons, and mountains of garbage. This causes them to condemn the property and put an eviction notice on the door.
Soon after, Jackie visits and is shocked by the home's condition and by the oddball behavior of the women. Seeing as how she does not want to let the location or many of her childhood memories be taken down, she and her sister, Lee Radziwill, pay for the cleanup and restoration of the mansion.
During one of Radziwill's trips to the mansion, she introduces Big and Little Edie to documentarians Albert and David Maysles, who are making a film about her. A year later, the Maysles come back and say that Radziwill stopped cooperating but they decided that since they found Big and Little Edie to be the most interesting parts of the footage they shot, they asked to do one on them. The film then depicts the filming of various scenes of the documentary, Grey Gardens . When the documentary is finished, Little Edie plans to attend the premiere but her mother tries to discourage it out of spite and the two women fight before Little Edie escapes. Finding one of Big Edie's favorite cats, Whiskers, Little Edie goes back to her and Big Edie tearfully realizes that she has held her daughter back from having a life. She proclaims that she should have let her stay in New York. Reconciling, Big Edie gives her blessing for Little Edie to attend the premiere, and gives her her wedding earrings and necklace to wear, as she intended to give them to her when she got married. As Little Edie attends the premiere, she receives a standing ovation from the audience after its conclusion. Back at the mansion, Big Edie receives a call from Walter Goodman of The New York Times , and when he asks if he can get a comment from her of what she thinks about the Maysles film, she says, "No, Mr. Goodman, it's all in the movie", before she hangs up on him. She laughs as she repeats her last remark to Whiskers.
The movie ends with Little Edie singing "Tea for Two" at the Reno Sweeney cabaret in Greenwich Village and the quote "My mother gave me a truly priceless life."
Michael Sucsy said that he used primary sources to flesh out the story including letters and journals kept by Little Edie. He also interviewed family members and friends including Lois Wright who lived in the house and wrote her own book about the events. [3] Albert Maysles is credited as a source in the movie. Sucsy said that the house facade as well as the interior were created from blueprints. Sucsy said that an aerial shot of the house circa 1936 was historically accurate on the placement of the house in relation to other mansions in East Hampton at the time (although requiring CGI enhancements to create the illusion). [4] As with many movies based on historical events, some events in the Beales' lives, such as the timing of Big Edie and Phelan's divorce, were shifted to make a more coherent story.
The entire film was shot in Ontario, with most of the shots in metropolitan Toronto. The Valley Halla Estate in Rouge Park was the setting of exterior shots of Grey Gardens. Waterfront shots were on Centre Island in the Toronto Islands. Hotel shots were at the Fairmont Royal York. Studio work was done at Toronto Film Studios. [5]
The aerial shot of The Pierre was licensed from An Affair to Remember . [4]
Post-production was done in New York and Los Angeles. The DVD commentary was done in the same studio where the Maysles mixed the original documentary. [4]
The movie has been lauded by many critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% out of 10 professional critics gave the film a positive review. [6] Ben Lyons from At the Movies raved: "Drew Barrymore is fantastic in this film." Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers also raved: "The script hits a few bumps, but Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore are magnificent as the bizarro Beales. Barrymore is a revelation. Aging into her 60s and transformed in voice and bearing, she finds Edie's unquenchable spirit. Brava."
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2009 | Artios Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Movie | Ellen Parks and Robin D. Cook | Won | [7] |
Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Motion Picture | Won | [8] | ||
Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Drew Barrymore | Won | |||
Jessica Lange | Nominated | ||||
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Ken Howard | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Jeanne Tripplehorn | Nominated | |||
Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Michael Sucsy | Won | |||
Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Michael Sucsy and Patricia Rozema | Won | |||
Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated | ||||
Best Costume Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won | ||||
Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated | ||||
Best Lighting in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won | ||||
Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won | ||||
Best Music in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won | ||||
Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won | ||||
Best Sound in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated | ||||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Rachael Horovitz, Michael Sucsy, and David Coatsworth | Won | [9] | |
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Drew Barrymore | Nominated | |||
Jessica Lange | Won | ||||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Ken Howard | Won | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Jeanne Tripplehorn | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special | Michael Sucsy | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special | Michael Sucsy and Patricia Rozema | Nominated | |||
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie | Kalina Ivanov, Brandt Gordon, and Norma Jean Sanders | Won [a] | ||
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or Special | Ellen Parks and Robin D. Cook | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie | Mike Eley | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special | Catherine Marie Thomas and Mickey Carleton | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or Movie | Jenny Fifield-Arbour and Nancy E. Warren | Won | |||
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or Movie (Non-Prosthetic) | Linda Dowds, Susan Hayward, and Vivian Baker | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or Special | Vivian Baker, Linda Dowds, Bill Corso, and Sean Sansom | Won | |||
Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) | Rachel Portman | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie | Alan Heim and Lee Percy | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie | Henry Embry and Rick Ash | Nominated | |||
Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture Made for Television | Won | [10] | ||
Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Drew Barrymore | Won | |||
Jessica Lange | Nominated | ||||
Television Critics Association Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials | Won | [11] | ||
Women Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Theatrically Unreleased Movie by or About Women | Won | [12] | ||
Women's Image Network Awards | Outstanding Mini-Series / Made for Television Movie | Won | [13] | ||
Outstanding Actress Made for Television Movie / Mini-Series | Jessica Lange | Nominated | |||
2010 | American Cinema Editors Awards | Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television | Alan Heim and Lee Percy | Won | [14] |
Art Directors Guild Awards | Excellence in Production Design Award – Television Movie or Mini-series | Kalina Ivanov, Brandt Gordon, Colin Woods, Tucker Doherty, Jason Clarke, Jeff Helgason, and Jean Sanders | Won | [15] | |
Cinema Audio Society Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Miniseries | Henry Embry and Rick Ash | Won | [16] | |
Costume Designers Guild Awards | Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries | Catherine Marie Thomas | Won | [17] | |
Critics' Choice Awards | Best Picture Made for Television | Won | [18] | ||
Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television or Miniseries | Michael Sucsy | Nominated | [19] | |
Dorian Awards | TV Drama of the Year | Won | [20] | ||
Campy Flick of the Year | Nominated | ||||
TV Performance of the Year: Drama | Drew Barrymore | Won | |||
Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | Won | [21] | ||
Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | Drew Barrymore | Won | |||
Jessica Lange | Nominated | ||||
Gracie Awards | Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Lead in a Drama Special | Drew Barrymore | Won | [22] | |
Producers Guild of America Awards | David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Rachael Horovitz, Michael Sucsy, and David Coatsworth | Won | [23] | |
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Drew Barrymore | Won | [24] | |
Jessica Lange | Nominated | ||||
Writers Guild of America Awards | Long Form – Original | Michael Sucsy and Patricia Rozema | Nominated | [25] | |
2019 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Television Programs | Inducted | [26] |
Grey Gardens: Music composed by Rachel Portman | |
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Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
Released |
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Label |
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Producer | Stewart Lerman |
The Academy Award-winning composer Rachel Portman provided the film score. In addition to Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the album includes vocal performances by the movie's lead actresses, Jessica Lange (on "We Belong Together" and "I Won't Dance" sung with Malcolm Gets) and Drew Barrymore (on "Tea for Two").
No. | Title | Featured artist | Length |
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1. | "Virginia Military Institute Song" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:00 |
2. | "Little Edie on Chair" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:45 |
3. | "Love Is Divine" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:21 |
4. | "Edie Come Home" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:23 |
5. | "Cements the Deal" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:14 |
6. | "Nobody Stuck Anybody Anywhere" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:14 |
7. | "Wedding Jewels" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 3:26 |
8. | "I Might Have" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:23 |
9. | "Extraordinary Determination" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:11 |
10. | "Your Father's Died" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 0:57 |
11. | "Feet First" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:52 |
12. | "Invite You In for Tea" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:45 |
13. | "She Was Gorgeous" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:40 |
14. | "We Belong Together" | Jessica Lange & Malcolm Gets | 1:08 |
15. | "I Won't Dance" | Jessica Lange & Malcolm Gets | 1:14 |
16. | "We Belong Together" | Jessica Lange | 1:41 |
17. | "Young Edie in NYC" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 0:38 |
18. | "Raid" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:57 |
19. | "This Will Be Better" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:30 |
20. | "All the Luck in the World"/"Love Is Divine" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 2:11 |
21. | "Trust Has Run Out" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:13 |
22. | "Long Leash" | Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | 0:54 |
23. | "Tea for Two" | Drew Barrymore | 1:29 |
Total length: | 39:36 |
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Drew Blythe Barrymore is an American actress, producer, talk show host, author and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received several awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for nine Emmy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Barrymore received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in 2023.
Jessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress. Known for her roles on stage and screen she has received numerous accolades and is one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. Lange has received two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Olivier Award.
Grey Gardens is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a derelict mansion at 3 West End Road in the wealthy Georgica Pond neighborhood of East Hampton, New York. The film was screened at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival but was not entered into the main competition.
Edith Bouvier Beale, nicknamed Little Edie, was an American socialite, fashion model, and cabaret performer. She was a first cousin of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill. She is best known for her participation in the 1975 documentary film Grey Gardens, by Albert and David Maysles,.
Caroline Lee Radziwiłł, also previously known as Lee Canfield and Lee Ross, was an American socialite, public relations executive, and interior designer. She was the younger sister of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy.
Douglas Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Known for his extensive work in the American theatre in both plays and musicals, he has received numerous accolades including the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award.
Michael Sucsy is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing the HBO film Grey Gardens and The Vow.
Grey Gardens is a musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, produced in 2006 and based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were Jacqueline Kennedy's aunt and cousin, respectively. Set at Grey Gardens, the Bouviers' mansion in East Hampton, New York, the musical tracks the progression of the two women's lives from their original status as rich and socially polished aristocrats to their eventual largely isolated existence in a home overrun by cats and cited for repeated health code violations. However, its more central purpose is to untangle the complicated dynamics of their dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship.
Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale was an American socialite and singer known for her reclusive and eccentric lifestyle. Known as Big Edie, she was a sister of John Vernou Bouvier III and an aunt of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and socialite Princess Lee Radziwill. Her life and relationship with her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale was highlighted in the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens.
The Beales of Grey Gardens is a documentary film by Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Ian Markiewicz, released in 2006.
Phelan Beale was an American attorney and sportsman in New York City who was married to Edith Ewing Bouvier, an aunt of former First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Beale is probably best remembered as the absent father chronicled in the Grey Gardens saga portrayed in a 1975 movie documentary, 2006 Broadway musical, and 2009 HBO film, all of which were named for his home in East Hampton, New York.
Phelan Beale Jr. was an American journalist and unemployment compensation law expert. He was a son of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and a brother of Edith Bouvier Beale whose lives were highlighted in the documentary Grey Gardens. He was a first cousin of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill.
Bouvier Beale was an American lawyer. Beale was one of the sons of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and was also a brother of Edith Bouvier Beale, whose lives were highlighted in the documentary Grey Gardens. Beale was a first cousin of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill.
Grey Gardens is a 14-room house at 3 West End Road and Lily Pond Lane in the Georgica Pond neighborhood of East Hampton, New York. It was the residence of the Beale family from 1924 to 1979, including mother and daughter Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale from 1952 to 1977. The 1975 documentary Grey Gardens depicted the two living in squalor in the mansion; the highly regarded film spawned a 2006 Broadway musical, a 2009 television movie, and other adaptations.
Lucy Barzun Donnelly is an American executive producer, including Grey Gardens.
John Dennis Phelan was an American editor, politician and jurist. He served as Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives.
Rachael Horovitz is an American film producer. She is known for producing the film Moneyball, and the miniseries Patrick Melrose.
Lois Erdmann Wright was an American artist, author, and television personality. She was best known for her appearance in the 1975 independent documentary film Grey Gardens by Albert and David Maysles. She was the author of the memoir My Life at Grey Gardens: 13 Months and Beyond. She hosted The Lois Wright Show for LTV Public Access in East Hampton for over 30 years; broadcasting her final show on December 19, 2018. As an artist, she exhibited at Guild Hall in East Hampton and at the National Arts Club in New York. Her art focused mainly on Edith Bouvier Beale and Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens.
Jerry “The Marble Faun” Torre is an American sculptor. He is best known for his appearance in the 1975 independent documentary films Grey Gardens and The Beales of Grey Gardens by Albert and David Maysles. As a sculptor, his work has been shown in several galleries in New York City and written about in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Forbes, among other publications. He is affectionately known among cult-film followers as "The Marble Faun"; a nickname that Edith Bouvier Beale gave him upon their first meeting. Torre worked as an assistant to Wayland Flowers, and through Aristotle Onassis obtained a job tending gardens for the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. He was portrayed in the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Grey Gardens in 2006. His life has been documented in the 2011 film The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens.