Savage Grace is the true story of the beautiful and charismatic Barbara Daly, who married above her class to Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Their only child is a failure in his father's eyes, and as he matures and becomes increasingly close to his lonely mother, the seeds for tragedy are sown.

*** Spoilers Ahead ***

Barbara Daly (played by Julianne Moore) is a lonely, selfish human being who married one of the richest men, Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane). It was not a happy marriage, and in due course, they both began to hate each other. They had a son, Tony (Eddie Redmayne) who remains Barbara’s only happiness. Tony also happens to be Brooks’ major disappointment. You see, as Tony gets older, he shows signs that he’s gay.

- - -

- - -

In Spain, the marriage finally breaks down when Brooks takes in as his lover Tony’s former flame, Elena. Tony is oblivious to the relationship, but still feels responsible and tries to get through his father, sympathizing with his mother’s predicament and pain. Tony is also deeply into a relationship with Black Jake (exceptionally played by Unax Ugalde). Tony fails to bring his father back into the family and Barbara attempted suicide.

Back in London, things are not going really well and Barbara and Tony’s relationship goes further - disturbingly deeper than the ordinary relationship between mother and son. What happens next is a tragedy that is hard to forget.

[ Very powerful and disturbing scenes for some, you have been warned! Note: The second youtube video is the movie's trailer ]

- - -

- - -

- - -

While Redmayne was particularly good in Like Minds, I find his performance in Savage Grace to be his best so far. He has this almost maniacal yet composed and gentlemanly manner while on the throes of attempting a heinous crime. He looks so delectable and sexy in his dalliance with Black Jake, and even in that scene where Barbara, Tony and Sam (Hugh Dancy) shared the bed together; he looks so familiar and gay!

- - -

Eddie versus Tom: Like Minds

If I was disappointed not seeing the battle of two amazing British actors in Jumper - Jamie Bell versus Tom Sturridge, I was a bit happy to see Tom getting his fair share of attention in Like Minds. Eddie is definitely a good match for Mr. Sturridge.

Here's one of the many videos now available at youtube re: Like Minds...

- - -

- - -

What’s next for Redmayne? Laura Barton from The Guardian reports:

The light coming through the window has a tinge of late-summer Englishness, but it falls upon a scene of contemporary Americana, all discarded beer bottles and an enormous blond sofa. For the past few weeks, this church hall in London has been the venue for rehearsals of Now Or Later, a new play by New York playwright Christopher Shinn about the US election, which opens this week at the Royal Court. Directed by Dominic Cooke, it stars Eddie Redmayne as a candidate's 20-year-old gay son, a young man ill at ease with his father's political ascendancy.

Redmayne is one of Britain's brightest young actors, and at 26 has already established a stage and film reputation, appearing in Edward Albee's The Goat Or Who Is Sylvia?, for which he won best newcomer at the Evening Standard theatre awards in 2005; the film Savage Grace, as Julianne Moore's son; and in Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd. He has also done his fair share of plush costume dramas - Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl, and the BBC's forthcoming Tess of the D'Urbervilles, in which he plays Angel Clare.

Today, Redmayne's attention is drawn to the questions posed by Now Or Later. "My character is called John Jr," he says. "He is the son of the Democratic nominee for the election in 2008, and his dad is about to be elected president. And it's election night, and my character has gone and done something which is perceived by most people as being incredibly foolish." John Jr has gone to a party dressed as the prophet Muhammad, photos of which have surfaced on the internet. "And," says Redmayne gravely, "it's about to turn pretty hardcore and basically have massive international ramifications." [ read more ]

On the movie scene, Eddie is part of the ensemble cast for Powder Blue, where “Several Angelenos meet on Christmas Eve through chance, tragedy and divine intervention. Swayze will play the sleazy owner of the strip club where Biel's character dances. Redmayne will portray a mortician who falls in love with her. Kristofferson will play the head of a corporate crime organization who tries to convince his former employee (Liotta) not to seek vengeance on his former co-workers. Whitaker, who also serves as a producer on the film, will play a suicidal ex-priest. Newcomer Alejandro Romero will play a transsexual prostitute who shares an unexpected bond with the priest.”

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email This

Hits: 333

Comments (1)

...

I have seen redmayne in now or later in london and he is astounding. the reviews have been fantastic. it's great to see uk actors like him and ben wishaw mixing theatre, film and tv so fluidly.

juliasaton , October 04, 2008

Write comment

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

Add Comment Preview