By Kevin B. Lee
[Editor's Note: This is the latest entry in House contributor Kevin B. Lee's Shooting Down Pictures, a record of his ongoing quest to see every title on the list of the 1000 Greatest Films compiled by They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?]
Arguably the most complex and controversial work in the storied career of cinema verite pioneers Albert and David Maysles is this intimate study of Edith Bouvier and “Little” Edie Beale, two relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis secluded in a dilapidated estate in the Hamptons. Detractors may cite it as a watershed in unleashing the documentary medium’s most exploitive tendencies, and draw a damning line connecting this “reality” expose of the sordid lives of two pseudo-celebrities to its legions of modern television progeny. However, one attribute that sets the film miles apart from its successors is its non-linear, fugue-like narrative structure, in which time seems to stand still and the same day seems to be lived over and over with slight variations, emblematizing the experiences of both mother and daughter. The film is a masterpiece of editing, weaving over a hundred hours of footage to create a world that is hermetically sealed while containing dozens of fragmented moments reflecting two lifetimes of recycled memories and shattered dreams. The surreal outcome - perhaps inevitable given the subjects’ remove from reality - further conflates the film’s status as both documentary and fiction. The Maysles’ draw attention to their own active role as documentarians (as well as instigators) of the daily drama being played out between Big and Little Edie, while fulfilling Edie’s long-deferred dream of stardom. Their self-reflexive veracity only raises further questions about the methodology of this documentary, as well as that of all others._____________________________________
To read the rest of the article at Shooting Down Pictures, click here.
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