Grace Land

Filmmaker Tom Kalin discusses his new film Savage Grace

BY LAWRENCE FERBER

“I'm a happy homo,” insists filmmaker Tom Kalin. “I'm not all tragic.”

No such luck for the queer protagonists of Kalin's feature filmography: real-life thrill killers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in the 1992 New Queer Cinema classic Swoon, and now his long-awaited follow-up, Savage Grace, which focuses on the real-life incestuous, destructive relationship between narcissistic socialite Barbara Daly Baekeland (played by Julianne Moore) and her twisted gay son, Tony (played by Eddie Redmayne). Screenwriter Howard A. Rodman worked from the book by Natalie Robins & Steven M.L. Aronson.

FRONTIERS: Important issues first—was Barbara a MILF?

TOM KALIN: A MILF? Oh my God, that's so funny. Don't you think? First of all, she's played by Julianne Moore. You'd have to be gay to not want to sleep with her. Julianne looks remarkably like the real Barbara, who was charismatic, gorgeous, and all the stories in the book—which was a great resource—talk about every man that met her was struck by her and fell in love.

Barbara was born poor, her father committed suicide and her brother died in a car crash, yet she was beautiful and married into high society. Is there a modern-day Barbara out there?

Well, I think an interesting comparison—and there is no disrespect whatsoever here—would be Madonna. Madonna came from modest means, an Italian-Catholic background, the wrong side of the tracks—there was no money. I think she would be the first to say “I'm not the greatest singer in the world,” but that charisma and ability to galvanize and be this kind of figure is something she shares in common with Barbara. The huge difference is the historical period they're living in. Barbara tried to do the same thing, to be an actress, but she wasn't gifted enough and there were probably a lot of people competing for that small amount of real estate.

In the film, Barbara and Tony end up sharing a boyfriend, Seth, played by Hugh Dancy. Did Julianne take the role because she gets to hook up with hot young guys?

It was in the contract! [Laughs] She took it because it was different territory for her. She doesn't really play ferocious, angry narcissists. She usually plays a fragile, internal, housewife on the outside but rich in her life. That's what she's most known for in her work. But when Julianne saw who I cast she said, “My god, I'm going to be in bed with two young boys!” Yes, you are.

Judging from your filmography—you also produced I Shot Andy Warhol, about lesbian nutjob Valerie Solanas—you seem to like crazy queers.

Yes. I'm the king of dysfunctional homos. But I think there's just as much connection about stories about class in America (the role of money and privilege) and the relationship between violence and sexuality in certain peoples’ lives. Or the tensions of what goes on depending on the times they live in.

So given all the bio-films you've worked on, any interest in making one that draws from your own life?

I may someday make a movie about AIDS, drawn from experience. I'm still not ready for that movie, and I may not ever be, but that's probably the only movie I've ever thought of that's very drawn from my own experience.

ON SCREEN

Bigger Stronger Faster*

Starring Chris Bell
NR, 105 min. (Magnolia Pictures)
***

In examining steroids as a metaphor of how Americans always have to be the biggest and the best at everything (even if that involves a little cheating), director Chris Bell interestingly mixes and matches various forms of the genre. It's a personal documentary when Bell discusses how both of his brothers—one a competitive weightlifter, the other a one-time pro wrestler—both take steroids even though he thinks it's immoral. More straightforward nonfictional sequences examine the hysteria that has built up over steroids, featuring interviews with many experts and scientists who say that steroids aren't as bad as the media constantly tells us. A few sequences even go into Michael Moore territory, as Bell creates a useless (but perfectly legal) dietary supplement with the help of illegal alien dayworkers and then tries to get Gov. Schwarzenegger on camera to talk about his past steroid use. The mix doesn't always work, but Bigger Stronger Faster* is provocative and often fascinating. —ALONSO DURALDE

The Edge of Heaven

Baki Davrak, Nurgul Yesilcay, Hanna Schygulla
R, 114 minutes, Strand Releasing
***1/2

Fatih Akin's The Edge of Heaven is a superlative Turkish-German drama. It is a disservice to reveal too much about the film, even though two of its three chapter titles foretell the fates of some characters. Suffice it to say, the interlocking stories concern two pairs of mothers and daughters as well as a father and son and their international connections. Artfully made, the film conveys a strong sense of place, as well as the natural rhythms of its characters' lives. Scenes involving Nejat (Baki Davrak) driving across the countryside are hypnotic, while the increased estrangement between Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska) and her mother (Hanna Schygulla) is wrenching. But The Edge of Heaven negotiates issues of identity, sexuality, and nationality—most commendably in its depiction of Lotte's efforts to help her Turkish girlfriend Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcay) with her international legal troubles. This is an absorbing triptych of stories, extremely well told, and a must for lovers of art house cinema. —GARY M. KRAMER

LIMITED RUN

Next Stop Greenwich Village

Director Paul Mazursky's homage to the bohemian sensibilities of 1953 Manhattan returns to the big screen for two nights only. New Beverly Cinema. Fri., May 23 (7:30 p.m.) and Sat., May 24 (3:05 & 9:40 p.m.) $7. www.newbevcinema.com.

Cabaret and Sweet Charity

Sally and Charity represent at the New Beverly's two-day Fosse double feature over Memorial Day! New Beverly Cinema. Sun., May 25 and Mon., May 26. $7. www.newbevcinema.com.

High, Wide, and Handsome and One Touch of Venus Double Feature

Not quite as dark as There Will Be Blood, Handsome is Oscar Hammerstein's musical love story set in the oil fields. Screened with Ava Gardner's 1948 musical comedy. Billy Wilder Theatre. Wed., May 28. 7:30 p.m. $10. www.cinema.ucla.edu.

Star!

Julie Andrews becomes scandalous British stage performer Gertrude Lawrence in this colorful musical biopic. Her costume changes alone are reason enough to make this film worth watching! Aero Theatre. Sat., May 31. 7:30 p.m. $10. www.americancinematheque.com.

HOMO MUST

Why Be Good? Sexuality and Censorship in Early Cinema

Our queer-friendly allies at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre have prepared an outstanding triple feature, Forbidden, Madam Satan, and Beast of the City, to explore the phenomenon of censorship and sexuality in the history of film. Egyptian Theatre. Fri., May 23. 7:30 p.m. $10. www.americancinematheque.com.

ON DVD

Forgiving The Franklins

Teresa Willis, Robertson Dean, and Vince Pavia
***

The bland and boring Franklins are a family of four who live with God’s stamp emblazoned on everything they do. That is, until a fatal car crash changes the perspective for three of them—including the way-hot brother. The parents and son are “reborn,” their old selves replaced by new incarnations that leave these three Franklins free of original sin and, thus, free to explore life without conservative reservations. Their long-suppressed sexual appetites are now ravenous and the football-jock son is so hungry for his hunky coach that he takes to the showers for some informal sex education. The incident is discussed matter-of-factly with his folks at the dinner table much to the disgust of his sister who, unfazed by the car crash, is reviled by her family’s newfound freedoms. The blackly comic Forgiving The Franklins has fun mocking biblical conventions, but its message about the importance of living your life as you want without embarrassment or shame is why it really scores. —WALLY KING

The Walker

Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Lauren Bacall
**

Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson) is a handsome, impeccably dressed arm accessory for the lonely wives of Washington DC’s power-elite. Beyond the façade, Carter is just a lonely gay man whose duplicitous life is brought under scrutiny when he is drawn into a muddy murder mystery that is decidedly less interesting than any of the rich characters who inhabit it. More than anything, this film is an interestingly drawn character study of a gay man accused of murder set against a conservative, right-wing run system. But as a political thriller The Walker lacks both legs and thrills. Wasted are the likes of Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin and Kristin Scott Thomas, who hobble through a humdrum, plodding plot. The movie manages to raise interesting questions about loyalty, keeping secrets, and telling lies, but for a director best known for pushing the envelope and people’s buttons, Paul Schrader (American Gigolo) manages to mostly just bore us here. —W.K.