Savage Grace (2007)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Absolutely the worst movie.

A Masterpiece!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane) is the heir to the Bakelite plastics from his grandfather. He does no work just like his father. He has a volatile marriage to Barbara (Julianne Moore). He is dissatisfied with their son Antony (Eddie Redmayne). As the family dysfunction increases, Barbara gets ever more closer to Antony leading to complicated sexual relationship along with Sam Green (Hugh Dancy).Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne deliver a couple of solid performances. It's filmed with a cold distant beauty. The movie is missing the intensity and the psychological thrills. The closing text describes some crazy plot developments after the movie ends. The first half could be compressed while the final text could be played out on the screen. This should be a character study of Antony rather than following Barbara.

The plot is largely based on real events and persons - for me, it is a plus and additional value. Nevertheless, many scenes are peculiar, shocking - but still neither unrealistic nor artificial. Of course, one cannot expect dealing with topics like incest, mental illness, or vanity in a smooth and concealing manner. Such a rigorous stuff requires and expects strong and open actors - and the director and producers have managed to invite so great and versatile performers like Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne; they are very convincing and had certainly tough choices to make. The third leading actor, Stephen Dillane, and other supporting actors did not impress me so much, but still the movie is highly recommended to all them fond of profound dramas with a different touch - with "nasty" scenes expressed in a tasteful manner...

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.

None of these rich, idle people induce much empathy. Self-absorbed and shallow, the father Brooks (Stephen Dillane), the son Antony (Eddie Redmayne), and the mother Barbara (Julianne Moore) go about their lives with nary a care in the world. Yet, they manage to inflict unhappiness on each other in ways that test the limits of family love.Complex human relationships with a tendency toward destructive behavior form the premise of "Savage Grace", a true-life story of the Baekeland family, heir to the Bakelite plastic fortune. The film's plot begins in 1946 when Antony is a baby. The plot ends with the shocking climax, in 1972.Curiously aloof and standoffish, the film suffers from an unfortunate structure. Snippets of their family life allow us to peek in at odd moments between 1946 and 1972. We see them as they jet-set their way through Spain, Italy, and France, and hobnob with the rich and famous. At one point, Barbara, a socialite and former model, concedes a sense of apathy and boredom. "To say that one is tired of Paris is in fact to say that one is tired of life".But because the plot spans 26 years, viewers must fill in the story gaps as best they can. Though I'm not one for lots of exposition, some added dialogue could have helped the narrative to flow better. As is, the story comes across as disjointed and at times confusing. Viewers must exercise patience to see where this slow, meandering story is leading.The film's technical elements, including acting, are fine. The main problem is the script, and in particular the plot structure. Still, the film instructs us on how life can disintegrate for people with too much time on their hands and no sense of responsibility. That money can't buy happiness may be a cliché, but this story affirms it, at least for one very dysfunctional family that thought that it could.