Grey Gardens

Year: 1975

Grade: C+

Country: USA

Director: Maysles

Review

not up to par with the other maysles brothers films i’ve seen (gimme shelter, salesman), but that’s not to say it’s a bad film. it follows two women, aunt and cousin of jackie onassis, who live a more or less recluse lifestyle in the hamptons. they bicker with each other throughout the film, reliving the past to each others’ disdain. it reminds me most of “brother’s keeper” because of the kind of downtrodden life they live. despite their well-to-do setup, they live amongst filth – several cats and raccoons inhabit the home with them, the walls are falling apart and the place is generally pretty slummy. it’s supposed to be about the tenuous relationship of these two very odd, very disturbed old women and how that reflects upon relationships, life in general. overall i was just saddened by the spectacle. unlike the brothers in “brother’s keeper,” these subjects are people of means and education, and yet they live like animals. often they have no ability to coexist and even less sense of hygiene. they’re often severely deluded and just plain depressing people. that said, they’re also humorous. the film itself wasn’t much special that i saw, but that’s the nature of the maysles documentary – they don’t use editing like moore or the camera like wiseman.