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Grey Gardens

Play trailer 0:35 Poster for Grey Gardens PG Released Sep 27, 1975 1h 35m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
This film explores the daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. During the course of the documentary, they discuss their habits, desires and former loves with filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.
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Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens

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Critics Consensus

Edith and Edie Beale are eccentric subjects who offer a generous amount of themselves in Grey Gardens, an inquisitive and nonjudgmental exploration of the isolated socialites' lifestyle.

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Critics Reviews

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Charles Michener Film Comment Magazine An extraordinarily crafty invasion into the lives of Edith Beale and her daughter Edie. Apr 11, 2018 Full Review Kate Muir The Times (UK) As tender and revealing as it is completely bonkers. Rated: 5/5 Apr 14, 2016 Full Review Mark Feeney Boston Globe Edith and Edie are like a toxic vaudeville team, joined not just by blood but affinity. They're three parts folie a deux to two parts shtick. Rated: 3.5/4 Aug 6, 2015 Full Review Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) I guess the eccentric Beales are not for everyone, but they are definitely for me Jun 14, 2025 Full Review Mark Seneviratne Vague Visages Grey Gardens is a late-era accomplishment of what direct cinema had set out to be at the end of the 1950s. Mar 26, 2024 Full Review Jacqui Mac Gay Community News (Boston) A painful but poignant affirmation of life, rich in the kinds of socio-psychological truths that the camera rarely has the freedom to reveal. Sep 15, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Joel H Due to the influence of Bill Hader and Gilmore Girls, I decided to watch Grey Gardens. To be honest, I still don’t know what to make of it. This documentary is so bizarre. There’s not really a story. It’s mostly just watching Big Edie and Little Edie live their lives in a dilapidated mansion. And yet, even though nothing really happens in this film, it’s hard to take your eyes off the screen. It’s fascinating, yet dull. It’s simultaneously amusing and sad. I would have liked to know more about how these women came to be where they are, but I’ll be thinking about my visit to Grey Gardens for a while. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/20/25 Full Review Tamara K A fabulous film that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/28/24 Full Review Julian S A study of disillusionment and disorder within the confines of a once-grand, decrepit house. A must-see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Jerod S Their story is so bizarre that watching them sing and dance is like watching a train wreck. All that mansion and they're living with a hot plate in one room together. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/01/24 Full Review Ben N So bizarre, poor Edie is stuck in her 20s. She goes about as though she is still about to make her big break and live in the city. She received no support from family for who she wanted to be, and money and standing isn't everything. Edith set her own table, and probably resented being left at home herself - and reaped the fall for her dalliances. Left with only each other, they craft a seemingly sad existence in a huge enviable property in the land of those who have. It is hard to watch at times with so much talking over each other. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/21/23 Full Review Tyler B You can't take your eyes off this movie. It's like watching a beautiful car wreck unfold before you eyes in slow motion. There's so much to learn from this real life horror of wealth and mental illness. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Grey Gardens

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Movie Info

Synopsis This film explores the daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. During the course of the documentary, they discuss their habits, desires and former loves with filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.
Director
Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer
Producer
Albert Maysles, David Maysles
Distributor
Portrait Films
Production Co
Maysles Films, Portrait Films
Rating
PG
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 27, 1975, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Mar 6, 2015
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 21, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$31.0K
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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