Savage Grace

Fifteen years after his feature debut “Swoon”,about the infamous Leopold and Loeb murders,Tom Kalin returns with the true-crime tale ofBarbara Baekland’s death in 1972. Barbarawas the wife of Brooks Baekland, the wealthygrandson of the inventor of Bakelite, an earlyform of plastic.Julianne Moore is superb as Barbara, themother and Hollywood starlet who despisesher middle-class background and desperatelycraves the lifestyle and acceptance of highsociety. Brooks, Barbara and their son, Anthony,travel aristocratically around New York, Paris,Spain and London. Along the way, the parentssplit. Not accepting that Anthony is gay,Barbara tries to “cure” him by seducing him.Their meeting in her posh London penthouseleads to a tragic end. Based on the book by Natalie Robins and Steven M. L. Aronson, thisis a chilling story of desire, wealth, madnessand murder. Delivered with attractive colorfulcinematography, slick surroundings and skilledacting, “Savage Grace” is a fascinating glimpseinto the decadent lives of the rich in the 70’s.

Face2Face: / Red Carpet
Monday 19 November
SKANDIA 19.00
WITH: Tom Kalin (director)
MODERATOR: Geir Kamsvåg (chief editor)