Savage Grace is a 2007 drama film directed by Tom Kalin and written by Howard A. Rodman, based on the book Savage Grace by Natalie Robins and Steven M.L. Aronson. The story is based on the dysfunctional, allegedly incestuous relationship between heiress and socialite Barbara Daly Baekeland and her son, Antony. The film stars Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Elena Anaya, and Hugh Dancy.
Savage Grace | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Tom Kalin |
Produced by | Pamela Koffler |
Screenplay by | Howard A. Rodman |
Based on | Savage Grace by Natalie Robins and Steven M.L. Aronson |
Starring | Julianne Moore Stephen Dillane Eddie Redmayne Elena Anaya Unax Ugalde Belén Rueda Hugh Dancy |
Music by | Fernando Velázquez |
Cinematography | Juan Miguel Azpiroz |
Edited by | John F. Lyons |
Distributed by | IFC Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | France Spain United States |
Language | English |
It was an official selection at the 2007 London Film Festival, the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Screenplay
The film is based on the true story of Barbara Daly Baekeland (Moore), her husband Brooks Baekeland (Dillane), heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune, and their only child Antony (Redmayne), who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The story begins with Antony's birth and follows the family to the time of his arrest for the murder of his mother.
Critics gave the film mixed reviews. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 38 percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 89 reviews — with the consensus that "though visually compelling, the lamentable characters in Savage Grace make for difficult viewing." Metacritic, another review aggregator, reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 28 reviews.
Peter Bradshaw writing in The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars, describing it as "a gripping, coldly brilliant and tremendously acted movie."
Savage Grace was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay in 2008.
After the film opened, Baekeland's former lover, Samuel Adams Green (played by Dancy in the film), wrote an article pointing out that elements in the film were factually inaccurate. Referring to the ménage à trois scene of Barbara, Antony, and Sam having sex, he wrote:
It is true that almost 40 years ago I did have an affair with Barbara, but I certainly never slept with her son...Nor am I bisexual. ... She started telling people she had had an incestuous relationship with her son as a way of "curing" him of homosexuality... But I don't believe she had sex with Tony. I think she simply enjoyed shocking people.
Green then took legal action against the film makers, which was still unresolved at the time of his death.