Savage Grace (2008)

Like his landmark debut SWOON, Tom Kalin's long-awaited follow-up is based on a shocking true story. This time around, Kalin uses the celebrated nonfiction book by Natalie Robins and Steven M.L. Aronson as his source material in order to revisit one of the 20th century's most notorious family tragedies. Julianne Moore (SAFE, SHORT CUTS) plays Barbara Daly, a damaged but beautiful woman who elevates her status when she marries Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), heir to a plastics fortune. The birth of a son, Tony (Eddie Redmayne), does nothing to solve Brooks and Barbara's conflicted relationship. As Tony grows older and the family relocates from New York City to Paris to Spain to Ibiza throughout the 1950s and '60s, Barbara's fanatical smothering has left her son a sheepish wreck. The fact that he's homosexual only makes matters worse. Unable to escape from his mother's clutches, Tony begins to lose his mind, spurring a fatal act that will destroy the family.

SAVAGE GRACE finds Moore delivering one of her most electrifying and challenging performances. She brings humanity and credibility to a character who is deeply damaged. Kalin's bold decision to present six chapters in the family's saga, as opposed to taking a more traditional route, results in a richer and more intellectual work. Let it be known, SAVAGE GRACE has some truly dark material that will shock many viewers. But Kalin's artistry as a director keeps it from feeling like mere exploitation.