Savage Grace

A movie so disturbing that it can only be based on a true story. And, if you go into the movie not realizing it is a true story (like I did) you will get the shock of your life when you reach the final credits!

This movie rockets through an incredible number of heavy issues at a breath taking pace, while treating the audience with respect by not making all issues blatantly obvious and forcing the audience to put some of the puzzle together.

It explores a dangerously codependent relationship between mother and son. Their relationship is truly cringe worthy and disturbingly fascinating. No yawn moments here.

The film is different. It does stand out amongst hundreds of "seen-this-before" flicks.

Juliane Moore is great, of course.

One of her best performances, actually.

The film has the atmosphere that is hard to find these days; moves kind of slowly but the tension continually grows so you know something (bad) is going to happen eventually although you have no idea what.

Cannot understand certain opinions here which, I have a feeling, have been written without even watching the film or, simply, for some unknown reasons, out of spite.

See it. It is really good.

The movie based on the true story of Barbara Brooks is one the most disturbing movies I have ever watched.There are scenes after watching which you may say," OMG,is that possible"?But yet, the movie holds your attention till the very end.The experience although not pleasant is not bad.I don't say it is one of those classic ones which it surely could have been, had it not been that raw.Yet it scores.The reason being some fine acting shows especially by Julianne Moore and brilliant camera work, as well as use of color.The bleak storyline,some disturbingly torrid scenes,unusual theme and touch of reality make the movie alive.If you have rented this,I would suggest you to spend one and half hour with it and a few more with the thoughts of it.Thoughts however might disturb you though.

I'm a fan of "Swoon" I loved the semi documentary approach at another, true, high society horror story. In "Swoon" the distance the director took from his subject helped us to understand and to involve ourselves in the twisted mind of the protagonists. In "Savage Grace" it works the opposite way. I needed to be closer I needed to be taken step by step in any way you want it but step by step. The shrill performance by Julianne Moore didn't give me and 8th of what Judy Davis gave me in "A Little Thing called Murder" Here you're on your own. No sense of period or class no dramatic structure and feeble performances. What a pity. I had waited for this film with feverish anticipation.

Having seen quite a few films produced by Christine Vachon, I recognised a similar aesthetic in this film. Vachon's films often portray unconventional sexuality or other challenging social themes, but in a stylised way that is more accessible to wider audiences than grittier art-house films. This film would make a terrific companion piece to Christophe Honoré's Ma mère, as it tackles similarly challenging themes, though it is based on a true story and is much more digestible for audiences. The parallels between these stories are remarkable.

Julianne Moore is an actress I admire and takes top billing. Her performance was as good as usual, portraying Barbara Daly Baekeland, wife of the Bakelite heir. Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of her homosexual son was for me the stand-out performance. The film is set in various countries - the US, France, Spain and England - and the visuals are excellent. It takes a while to get a handle on where the film wants to take us, but it culminates in a chilling end. Worth seeing for the brave risks it takes and succeeds in delivering.

The Melbourne International Film Festival screening I attended was introduced by the director, Tom Kalin.