Grey Gardens

The Maysles’ brothers obviously have a gift of empathy, and it grants them rare intimacy with their subjects. David the soundman who establishes contact and the contract of trust, and Albert the cameraman who diagnoses himself with ADD and makes it the discipline of his life to focus. With the Maysles, you’re always up close and personal. And then they always work with equally empathetic women as editors, giving them prominent credit and frequently a start on a career. The worthwhile commentary on this Criterion Collection dvd features three women who worked on the film, with David, the surviving brother, adding only an occasional observation. So this intense portrait of two fallen society ladies in a dilapidated Hamptons mansion, mother and daughter, Bouvier relatives of Jackie O, has a flavor of femininity that has endeared it to the gay community over the years, a cult fave with the fashion crowd. Big Edie, the 79-year-old singer, and Little Edie, the 56-year-old dancer, achieved notoriety when they were “raided” by local officials trying to evict them because of their overgrown gardens and derelict home to countless cats and raccoons. That brought the Maysles, whom the Bouviers immediately loved for bringing them attention and the chance to perform. People who deem this film exploitation have missed an essential component of the transaction. Sure, the old biddies may strike you as demented and embarassing, but as Little Edie addresses the camera, “You do not see me as I see myself.” Despite the endless bickering of the locked-in pair, they love each other, they love themselves, and they love their filmmakers. And boy, do they sell their performances! You have to see it to believe it, and then you have to see it again to make up your mind what you think about the characters. Which makes for a masterpiece of direct cinema, to rival the Maysles’ Salesman or Concert of Wills: The Making of the Getty Center or any of the Christo films I will be showing at the Clark this Saturday, in a marathon screening from noon to 5:30. (1976, dvd, n.) *8*