It's a stunning movie and stunning work by Jessica Lange, Drew Barrymore and Ron Howard.Where do I begin . . . Let me say that Barrymore has risen to the status of 'great' actress. I saw the documentary and then i saw the movie. In "Grey Gardens," Barrymore IS Little Edie. The voice, the quirkiness the look. Jessica Lange, sadly, is in bed most of the time and her movements are limited, but her acting is superb.Ron Howard conveys the sadness of a man who knows that his time on earth is limited and his face shows so much anguish toward the end. He is on screen so little but adds so much.The previous reviewer nailed so much of this movie. So I will only add that Barrymore, had this movie been made for the big screen instead of for TV, deserved an Oscar nomination. But it gives me hope that I will see more of Barrymore. This TV movie portends much more greatness from Barrymore and cements Lange's place in the pantheon of great actors.The Maysayles' (see their "Salesman" documentary!!!) documentary is not to be missed and is great background for those who want to enjoy the TV movie even more.

Drew Barrymore gives the performance of her career as the alternatingly tragic and euphoric figure of Little Edie. On the one hand, it is a horror story - essentially this vibrant young woman decides to hide herself away, as forever a child living with her half-demented mother, in a fantasy world. On the the other hand, mother and daughter do have a kind of wonderful rapport; they do create their own eccentric world, and make their own life, regardless of what others might think. I've seen the documentary and both actors capture the spirit of their characters. Instead of playing them crazy or trying to imitate the documentary, they depict the stubbornness, the determination not to care what others think, and the dignity they still cling to. Barrymore, with the head scarves, poses and quips, nails the Little Edie character, and Jessica Lange as Big Edie is a quietly dominating force, but not in a malevolent way.

Grey Gardens is simply beautiful and deeply moving. The cinematography and scenery are colourful and lush, the soundtrack is lilting without feeling overbearing, the story is paced accordingly and makes me ache with emotion thinking about it and the script is a healthy balance of poignancy while never becoming too maudlin. Grey Gardens is directed with efficiency and the two lead characters are written so well that it is easy for me to empathise with them. I like Drew Barrymore, but I have not seen her this good in a long time, I'd go as far to say this is her best work. She has a perfect match in Jessica Lange who is mesmerising and the two have great chemistry between them. Overall, beautiful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

After watching the original so called "documentary", I could not help but feel sympathy for the Beales and to loathe the Maysles brothers for exploiting these two women. I fail to understand how anyone could not see the brothers for what they were. They were nothing but voyeurs selling their product as art. At least this movie makes some attempt to fill in some of the blanks. Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange's portrayals in the later years were quite good. Jessica Lange's physical resemblance and mannerisms were eerily accurate. The early years in the "documentary" were only noted by showing some actual old photographs of Big Edie and Little Edie when they were both much younger. It's hard to believe if you haven't seen those photos, that the Beales in their prime were more beautiful than the actresses portraying them. This was especially true of Big Edie who looked regal in some of the photos. Toward the end of this movie, both actresses conveyed (very subtly), the main characters' distaste for how the "documentary" depicted them, while they were in no financial position to oppose the release of the film. This to me was the most redeeming aspect of this film.