Review of Savage Grace (2007) by Laurence C — 15 Sep 2009

A sordid, tedious film-- intentionally so-- who challenges the viewer to keep watching as the lead characters (I hesitate to call them 'protagonists') descend into a profound pit of human relationship paralysis.

Although Moore's equally pathetic and frightening star turn blows each and every other character off the screen, Savage Grace is essentially a story about her son, played convincingly by Eddie Redmayne, whose life was mostly led at the mercy of her mother's taste for high society and not to mention frequent outbursts & embarassingly childish theatrics.

The effect that the script's progression has lies somewhere between devastating and off-putting, though it must be noted that one will frequently ask themselves if there is any purpose to telling this story in cinematic form.

The extremely lavish interiors, bad musical score, abrupt flash-forwards and troubling interludes all make for an interestingly trashy melodrama in parts, but not a compelling film as a whole.