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Savage Grace
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Metascore
51 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane
  • Summary: Savage Grace, based on the award winning book, tells the incredible true story of Barbara Daly, who married above her class to Brooks Baekeland, the dashing heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Beautiful, red-headed and charismatic, Barbara is still no match for her well-bred husband. The birth of the couple's only child, Tony, rocks the uneasy balance in this marriage of extremes. Tony is a failure in his father's eyes. As he matures and becomes increasingly close to his lonely mother, the seeds for a tragedy of spectacular decadence are sown. Spanning 1946 to 1972, the film unfolds in six acts. The Baekelands' pursuit of social distinction and the glittering 'good life' propels them across the globe. We follow their heady rise and tragic fall against the backdrop of New York, Paris, Cadaques, Mallorca and London. (IFC First Take) … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 28
  3. Negative: 4 out of 28
  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    If you might wish the film got deeper under the skin of the characters, you also feel grateful for the fact that you'll never get closer to them than watching it.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    60
    It's tough to think of another film in which sex between a mother and her son is not necessarily the worst thing that happens.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    For all its outré set pieces it never rises above the level of pretentious trash.

See all 28 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 2 out of 5
  1. [Anonymous]
    10
    An amazing film. It pulls you so deeply into the story. Suspenseful and ultimately shattering. Tom Kalin is a great filmmaker.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MichaelH
    6
    Movie could've been great if not for several major flaws. Clocking in at around 90 minutes, it was way too short to instill any story and could've benefited from at least another half hour of development. The story is very disjoint and events and characters are forgotten as suddenly as they were introduced. The movie is basically just a series of powerful scenes, all independent of each other however. Julianne Moore also plays pretty much the same thing she always plays. Fairly disappointing.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. juderobe
    2
    Who said that evil is banal? Banality is the problem with this film which is technically well-made and cast with mesmerizing actors--especially the young ones; the son and the girlfriend and the son's lover. What motivates the mother? Why is her behavior so far off balance? Julianne Moore may have done better with a more filled out characterization. When the film began I immediately thought of a far more effective characterization of a borderline personality--Nancy in the film, "Sid and Nancy." And the film seriously underplays what has happened to the son--until the devasting finale. The real son, who this character was based on, in life, showed extreme behavioral signals, not just the enuie and lassitude we see here.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 5 User Reviews

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