Sunday, July 19, 2009

Movie Monday!


Hope everyone had a great weekend! We went riding on the motorcycle and enjoyed the cooler temperatures.
Over the weekend, I rented the movie Grey Gardens. Many of you may remember the original documentary that was filmed in the 1970's about Edith Beale and her daughter. The movie, starts out showing the film crew making the documentary and then skips back and forth between the past and present. Edith Beale was the aunt of Jackie Kennedy. She fell on hard times after her husband walked out on her. She resided in a very exclusive neighborhood in the east Hamptons. The house quickly fell into disrepair and without any money to fix it, the city moved in to evict her. When they arrived, there were 75 cats, raccoons and various other "pets" in the house. Edith lived in total squalor with her daughter who seemed to live in the past. Little Edie had dreams of becoming an actress and could not get past the fact that she did not have the talent to make it big. Edith vowed to never leave her home and at the last minute Jackie stepped in with a clean up crew to get the house back in shape. When Edith died, little Edie did sell the house and was able to buy an apartment to live in.
I have mixed feelings about this show. While it is interesting to watch. I couldnt help feeling disturbed by this woman and her inability to break free from the fantasy world she lived in. It seemed to me that both women lived a wasted life. Let me know what you think.
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5 comments:

vintage girl at heart said...

Sounds sad,I will have to check this one out!
TFS!

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

I thought the movie was very depressing. Usually, there is some redeeming quality to a movie, I guess if nothing else the clothes, homes and cars were neat to see. Other than that, it's a lesson in how not to live...shudder...

XOXO
Joni

Joanne Kennedy said...

I loved this movie. At first I felt like they were "over acting" but once I saw the real people I noticed they did a wonderful job of acting as they were just like the real Grey women.

I think it is heartbreaking that Jackie Kennedy didn't do more to help them and get them treated for mental illness.

Yes she gave $25,000 which was really nothing compaired to what she was worth.

These women needed to be taken care of. Sad to think of what the daughter would have turned out like if she never moved back in with her mother.

I'm sure her life would have been much better.

Joanne

Terri Steffes said...

Wow, I am going to have to check this out. Amazing.

Jean Tuthill said...

This sounds like an interesting movie. I'll have to look for it.