Gerald Wright's Movie Coverage
SAVAGE GRACE Movie Review
Directed by: Tom Kalin
Running time: 97 minutes
Release date: May 30, 2008 (Limited)
Genre: Drama, Docudrama, Crime and Adaptation
Distributor: IFC Films
MPAA Rating: Not rated
Savage Grace is a macabre true story of the Baekeland family spanning from 1946 to 1972. The film is adapted from the book by the same title written by Natalie Robins and Steven M.L. Aronson. Brooks (Stephen Dillane) and Barbara (Julianne Moore) live in the beautiful, rich and worldly atmosphere that the fortunate people can afford. They have one son named Tony (Eddie Redmayne) who is refined and handsome. However, he is neglected and smothered by his parents which ultimately lead him to violently destroy the entire family. This violence is the outcome of a long history of distorted sexual and family relationships between mother and son.
The film starts off as a sizzling epic with fantastic cinematography and beautiful scenery of New York, Paris, Cadaques, Mallorca and London. This blended well with the gracious and brilliant Julianne Moore's performance as a disturbed character going through stages of her life with her far removed husband and her very attached son.
Regardless of the intentions of the director in making this a great narrative, I could only applaud Julianne Moore's outstanding work in this movie. This film falls short of what could have been a great movie.
The history of this dysfunctional family is that Barbara was a model and an aspiring actress who married to the dashing Brooks Baekeland- the grandson of Leo Baekeland who invented the Baekeland plastic. During her marriage, she was known for rude outbursts and periods of severe depression. She led a decadent lifestyle of alcoholic and sexual addiction. She always felt she could not compete with her well bred husband. Brooks, removed himself from any affectionate feelings towards Barbara and his son Tony. He life consisted of social affairs with people such as Salvador Dali, James Jones, the Astors, the Vanderbuilts, and European nobility. He considered Tony a failure. It was inevitable for Tony to become schizophrenic. His parents shared a bizarre relationship with their son. There never a line of privacy, rather an unhealthy cohabitation, which caused an intense dependence on each other.
The film is focused on Barbara's behavior, but it abruptly shifts to the destruction of Tony in the final scenes. The end of the film is also when the film takes a downhill turn towards decadence and boredom. Prior to the final scenes, the director was able to keep an accurate portrayal of this complex tragic story. However, towards the end of the film, Stephen Dillane's portrayal of the distant father Brooks was removed completely which was unexplained and jarring. The build up to the conclusion misfired by cutting corners on explanations and using quick shots to expose the bisexual tendencies of Tony and the abrupt incestial behavior of Barbara. I can only assume the director wanted to use some form of shock treatment on his audience.
This true story of the murder of Barbara Baekeland by her son Tony is a true crime classic. It exposes the envied life of the rich and beautiful and shows their darkest sides. The film's epilogue before the final credits gives the facts that Tony was institutionalized at Broadmoor Hospital (UK) until he was released in July 1980 as the result of a bureaucratic error. Then he was sent to New York to live with his grandmother, until he stabbed her. She survived and Tony was sent to New York City's Riker's Island Prison where he later committed suicide.
FILM RATING (C)
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