While there is no substitution for Maysles‘ 1976 doc film, tonite on HBO (8pm ET), Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange are portraying the Beales. This Grey Gardens expounds on the documentary film and from what I understand from the synopsis below, details the “riches”, rather than the “rags” portion of their story.
Using the documentary as a framework, Michael Sucsy’s original story for GREY GARDENS offers a wry, behind-the-scenes look at the Beales and their unique mother-daughter bond. Told over the span of four decades, the film focuses on their glamorous and well-heeled lives long before the making of the documentary and on the circumstances behind their riches-to-rags story. Daniel Baldwin and Malcolm Gets co-star with Ken Howard and Jeanne Tripplehorn.
