Barrymore shines in Grey Gardens

Movie adaptations are always tricky. Whether you're adapting from a book, poem, song, short story, or remaking a classic film, there lies certain problems within the undertaking that can cause irreparable damage within the final product. Over six months ago, when I heard about the HBO remake/adaptation film of one of my favourite films of all time, I got skittish. But now after a sneak peak, I can rest assured that this could be one of the TV events of the year.

In 1975, the Maysles Brothers (Albert and David, of previous Rolling Stones-fan dying at concert documentary-Gimme Shelter fame) released a groundbreaking, fly on the wall style documentary (also known as Cinéma vérité for all you cinephiles and cinephile wannabes out there!)

The doco was about the pairing of an eccentric mother and daughter, living in an old, dilapidated mansion called Grey Gardens. But the pull was that this mother and daughter pairing were the great Aunt and cousin of former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (or the original Jackie O!) These former women of high class New York society had been living in squalor. And when press caught wind of it, a flurrying sensation was caused and Jackie herself came to help clean up the mess. A few years later, the Maysles came to film them, still living in their festering squalor with roughly 20 feral random cats wondering the premises, just "doing what they do". And henceforth the film Grey Gardens was born.

These two ladies were the original crazy old cat ladies you always heard about. And just to add to Little Edie's (the daughter) eccentricities, she donned a head scarf at all times to hide her hair that had previously fallen out, thus creating the unforgettable image of Little Edie (seen to the left) and the one of the woman that lies behind Grey Gardens.

But enough about the old, and in with the new. Some time ago, I heard that a film version was being made of Grey Gardens. Already a successful Tony award winning musical had been made. However this film is not an adaptation of the musical, it's a movie of the whole story of the Beales, spanning 40 years.

The first thing that I noticed was the casting choices. The brilliant Jessica Lange was to play Big Edie, which seemed like a very apt choice, as Lange is simple put, amazing. But then I read that Drew Barrymore had been cast as the one-of-a-kind Little Edie. This seemed like a risky choice for both the studio and Barrymore to make. Well, luckily, I have to say that my faith has been restored. If you check out the following clips you will see Barrymore as you've never seen her before. Over a years worth of vocal training, and much preparation has lead to what shall hopefully be a masterful performance. To judge for yourself, take a sneak peak at the trailer embedded below.

As a fan of the original cult doco, all I can say is that I'm relieved and beyond excited to see this hopefully magnificent adaptation of a truly unique and amazing story.

Originally slated for a theatrical release, HBO will be premiering Grey Gardens this Sunday night in the US. Who knows when we'll get it. I pray as soon as humanly possible, but with the past track records of getting anything decent on our screens, this could prove a more difficult task.