'Savage Grace' Film Review
Savage Grace is an hour and a half lesson on bad parenting, but a visually stunning one at that.
There are some movies that are best seen alone. Savage Grace is one of them. Based on the true story of Barbara Daly, murdered by her own son, Savage Grace’s unabashed mix of nudity, homosexuality and incest will leave you blushing in the dark, yet intrigued to watch more.
Directed by Tom Kalin, whose previous ‘Swoon’ displayed his penchant for the seedy, and based on the cult book of the same name, the film opens in New York, where an ethereal looking Barbara Daly Baekeland (Julianne Moore) nurses her newly born child, Anthony. All seems serene and as it should be, but then enters Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), her dollar-oiled husband. Like many American society films before it, such as American Psycho and Bonfire of the Vanities, it quickly becomes clear that all is not as rosy as it seems.
The rest of the film unfolds in Europe as the Baekelands move across the continents' most glamorous destinations. Alas no amount of geographics can translate into happiness for the family: we see a cold Brooke becoming more and more detached from a narcissistic, at times crazed Barbara, until eventually he leaves her, somewhat predictably, for a hot younger woman (whom prior to that was dating his son). This all has a catastrophic effect on Anthony, who develops into a reserved, withdrawn young man; the Oedepal act with his mother then signifies the final nail in both his and her coffins.
As stated at the start, this does not make for easy viewing. Yet it's beautifully shot, with an effortless 1950s through to 1970s Meditterranean backdrop and superb acting from all, especially the ever-accomplished Moore.
We only regret that we did not get a full sense of all the characters. By taking on such a brave subject matter and cramming it into a relatively small period of time, we received a key-hole glimpse into their lives, rather than open door observation. But maybe this sense of shallowness is why the tragedy happened in the first place.
Savage Grace is released at cinemas nationwide from 11th July.
Click here to read the Julianne Moore biography.
Jemimah Steinfeld
There are some movies that are best seen alone. Savage Grace is one of them. Based on the true story of Barbara Daly, murdered by her own son, Savage Grace’s unabashed mix of nudity, homosexuality and incest will leave you blushing in the dark, yet intrigued to watch more.
Directed by Tom Kalin, whose previous ‘Swoon’ displayed his penchant for the seedy, and based on the cult book of the same name, the film opens in New York, where an ethereal looking Barbara Daly Baekeland (Julianne Moore) nurses her newly born child, Anthony. All seems serene and as it should be, but then enters Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), her dollar-oiled husband. Like many American society films before it, such as American Psycho and Bonfire of the Vanities, it quickly becomes clear that all is not as rosy as it seems.
The rest of the film unfolds in Europe as the Baekelands move across the continents' most glamorous destinations. Alas no amount of geographics can translate into happiness for the family: we see a cold Brooke becoming more and more detached from a narcissistic, at times crazed Barbara, until eventually he leaves her, somewhat predictably, for a hot younger woman (whom prior to that was dating his son). This all has a catastrophic effect on Anthony, who develops into a reserved, withdrawn young man; the Oedepal act with his mother then signifies the final nail in both his and her coffins.
As stated at the start, this does not make for easy viewing. Yet it's beautifully shot, with an effortless 1950s through to 1970s Meditterranean backdrop and superb acting from all, especially the ever-accomplished Moore.
We only regret that we did not get a full sense of all the characters. By taking on such a brave subject matter and cramming it into a relatively small period of time, we received a key-hole glimpse into their lives, rather than open door observation. But maybe this sense of shallowness is why the tragedy happened in the first place.
Savage Grace is released at cinemas nationwide from 11th July.
Click here to read the Julianne Moore biography.
Jemimah Steinfeld
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