Savage Grace

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre drama Starring JULIANNE MOORE, STEPHEN DILLANE Directed by Tom Kalin Publisher IFC Films

A fact-based tale of decadence and sexual depravity, Savage Grace chronicles the tangled familial relationships of the Baekelands and proves that wealth without a moral rudder causes the most violent shipwrecks.

Julianne Moore plays Barbara Daly, the wife of Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune, played by Stephen Dillane. While her husband wears wealth like a second skin, Barbara is driven by her middle class background and uses everything at her disposal to insinuate her way into the forefront of high society. Her husband is at best a disgruntled pawn in her manipulations. Neither seems to have any parenting instincts, good or bad, and their only son Tony, played by Eddie Redmayne, accessorizes their lives rather than completing a loving family portrait. Challenged beyond his years as witness to his parents' escapades and a participant in the breaking of sexual taboos, Tony becomes a true reflection of their fractured existence, leading to more tragedy.

All three leading actors give superb performances. Moore is dazzling both in her beauty and the depiction of her character's tightrope walk between stone-cold bitch and free spirit. Dillane, who played Thomas Jefferson in HBO's miniseries “John Adams”, once again creates a flawless portrait of a complex man whose cool exterior hides an undertow of emotion. Redmayne, with his aristocratic features reminiscent of England's princes, was well cast as the couple's outwardly angelic, but amoral son. Definitely an actor to watch for in future films, Redmayne has no trouble holding his own in the company of skilled veterans Moore and Dillane.

Set against lush, color-saturated vistas of New York and Europe's high society, the Baeklands' story becomes surreal tone. The contrast between the film's fairytale look and its diamond tipped portrayal of these three people's detachment from all moral limits holds a mirror to our society's paradoxical fascination with celebrity: the desire for and envy of star status coupled with the relish for detailed, tell-all documentation when once-beloved icons are pulled from their spot lit pedestals.  Tom Kalin's Savage Grace challenges the viewer to put into perspective his or her own uncomfortable role of celebrity voyeur.