Savage Grace (2007)

A dramatization of the shocking Barbara Daly Baekeland murder case, which happened in a posh London flat on Friday 17 November 1972. The bloody crime caused a stir on both sides of the Atlantic and remains one of the most memorable American Tragedies...

Director:

Tom Kalin

Writers:

Howard A. Rodman (screenplay), Natalie Robins (book)

Stars:

Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Dillane

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Moore	...	Barbara Baekeland
Stephen Dillane	...	Brooks Baekeland
Anne Reid	...	Nini Daly
Martin Huber	...	Aschwin Lippe
Minnie Marx	...	Midge Vanden Heuvel
Jim Arnold	...	Joost Vanden Heuvel
Mapi Galán	...	Simone Lippe
Barney Clark	...	Tony at 12
Abel Folk	...	Carlos Durán
Belén Rueda	...	Pilar Durán
Simón Andreu	...	Jean Pierre Souvestre
Eddie Redmayne	...	Antony Baekeland
Elena Anaya	...	Blanca
Unax Ugalde	...	Black Jake Martínez
Melina Matthews	...	Lorna Moffat

Storyline

The true story of the beautiful and charismatic but mentally unstable Barbara Daly, who married above her class to Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Their only child is a failure in his father's eyes, and as he matures and becomes increasingly close to his alienated mother, the seeds for tragedy are sown.

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Plot Keywords:

son murders mother | orgasm | incest | older man younger woman relationship | male nudity | 

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Taglines:

A family that has everything has everything to lose.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Spain USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

25 January 2008 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Okrutna milost

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$4,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,311, 1 June 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$434,417, 17 August 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Celluloid Dreams, Montfort Producciones, Killer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore won Oscars for Leading Roles in the 87th Academy Awards. Both played characters who suffered from debilitating disorders: Redmayne's character had ALS (Lou Gehrig Disease), Moore's character had early-onset Alzheimer's. Director Richard Glatzer died from complications of ALS a few months after this movie's release.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, when Barbara arranges a dinner date at a restaurant, a pimple is between her cheek and her chin. It disappears mid-scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Antony Baekeland: I was eating a tomato at tea time a few weeks ago, and I suddenly realized that mommy is not dead at all. Just very, very mysterious.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Sex and the City: The Movie/Savage Grace/The Strangers/Kung Fu Panda/The Foot Fist Way (2008)

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Soundtracks

Ain't Nobody Home
Written by Jerry Ragovoy
Performed by Howard Tate
Published by Chappell & Co. (ASCAP)
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Riveting

The film has received much criticism for its "slow and episodic" pace, "bad" acting, and controversial elements. I will agree with the controversial aspects. This is not a film that cookie cutters will appreciate. They will be disgusted and more than likely bored out of there mind. I on the other hand come from a very dysfunctional family(not as dysfunctional), and at times related to certain characters. TO me the film was very direct in its approach and honestly quite tasteful for the subject matter. The pacing was as it should be. It was gradual not slow, it helped to build the tension. As for it being episodic, it is because the son is telling the story through his letters and journals. As for the acting I found it to be quite good with the exception of the son. I found his performance at times too emotionless. Julianne Moore more than makes up for it with her performance. She is a powerhouse. Brilliant Oscar worthy performance. The final scenes which I have heard are anticlimactic, in my opinion were refreshingly realistic and not overly dramatic.

So bottom line well-done film with an amazing performance by Julianne Moore, but could've been better with a more personal performance by the son

******* out of **********