Grey Gardens

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Grey Gardens

PG

1975

1h 35m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

This film explores the daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. During the course of the documentary, they discuss their habits, desires and former loves with filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.

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Critics Consensus

Edith and Edie Beale are eccentric subjects who offer a generous amount of themselves in Grey Gardens, an inquisitive and nonjudgmental exploration of the isolated socialites' lifestyle.

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Charles Michener

Film Comment Magazine

04/11/2018

An extraordinarily crafty invasion into the lives of Edith Beale and her daughter Edie.

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Kate Muir

The Times (UK)

04/14/2016

5/5

As tender and revealing as it is completely bonkers.

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Mark Feeney

Boston Globe

08/06/2015

3.5/4

Edith and Edie are like a toxic vaudeville team, joined not just by blood but affinity. They're three parts folie a deux to two parts shtick.

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John Paul King

Washington Blade

Feb 5

By the end of it, we recognize that the two Edies could be any of us, which means they are ALL of us – and if they can face their challenges with that much “revolutionary” spirit, then maybe we can be “staunch” against our adversities, too.

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

06/14/2025

I guess the eccentric Beales are not for everyone, but they are definitely for me

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Mark Seneviratne

Vague Visages

03/26/2024

Grey Gardens is a late-era accomplishment of what direct cinema had set out to be at the end of the 1950s.

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Allan C

@RT15713161 Jun 19

Oddball documentary of two eccentric recluses Grey Gardens (1975) **** Grey Gardens is a fascinating and often unsettling documentary that follows two eccentric recluses living in the decaying remnants of old-money privilege. Equal parts sad, funny, and voyeuristic, the film becomes a surprisingly rich portrait of isolation, fading aristocracy, and lives lived almost entirely apart from reality. SEE LETTERBOXED FOR FULL REVIEW

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Bruce J

Jan 25

It’s an interesting story.

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Russ G

@RT78760655 Dec 28

If nothing else, it demonstrates what kind of dough is required to maintain and operate these Money Pits!

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Joel H

@786Joel 05/20/2025

Due to the influence of Bill Hader and Gilmore Girls, I decided to watch Grey Gardens. To be honest, I still don’t know what to make of it. This documentary is so bizarre. There’s not really a story. It’s mostly just watching Big Edie and Little Edie live their lives in a dilapidated mansion. And yet, even though nothing really happens in this film, it’s hard to take your eyes off the screen. It’s fascinating, yet dull. It’s simultaneously amusing and sad. I would have liked to know more about how these women came to be where they are, but I’ll be thinking about my visit to Grey Gardens for a while.

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Tamara K

@Tamarak 09/28/2024

A fabulous film that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

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Julian S

@akajulianscott 08/29/2024

A study of disillusionment and disorder within the confines of a once-grand, decrepit house. A must-see.

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Ellen Hovde

Director

Albert Maysles

Director

David Maysles

Director

Muffie Meyer

Director

Susan Froemke

Associate Producer

Albert Maysles

Producer

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88%

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Grey Gardens: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

This film explores the daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. During the course of the documentary, they discuss their habits, desires and former loves with filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.

Director: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer
Producer: Albert Maysles, David Maysles
Distributor: Portrait Films
Production Co: Maysles Films, Portrait Films
Rating: PG
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 1975, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 2015
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 21, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $31.0K
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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