Tribeca Dispatch: Saturday, April 26

I am an early riser, so a 9:30 p.m. screening of a heavy drama normally isn’t on my to-do list. However, I love Julianne Moore, and I figured the Downtown resident would be at the New York premiere of her new movie, Savage Grace. I never saw her. WAAHH!! I did meet the director of hot documentary Baghdad High, though, and she was so cool that I used my first voucher for a screening of her movie Thursday. Encounters such as that one are why I love volunteering in the Industry department.

Movie seen: Savage Grace
What it is (description from TFF Web site): A daring dramatization of the disintegrating psyche of '60s socialite Barbara Baekeland, Savage Grace brilliantly showcases Julianne Moore at her most haunting. Insulated by wealth and abandoned by her husband, Baekeland falls into tragic dysfunction with her adoring son.
Viewing partners: Tim
General festival notes: This was my first day of volunteering. I was supposed to work the concierge desk, but that division had nothing for me to do, so I took myself to press and industry screenings at the Village East Cinemas. I had a lot of industry folks to check in for four hours, but mostly I briskly walked between the east and west sections of 12th and 13th streets to obtain press notes. Yes, I was a big-time gopher. I also learned that Amanda from Cycle Seven of America’s Next Top Model is an actress - she and her agent were milling about the lobby - and that Rider Strong (of Boy Meets World fame) made a short film. I found him a bit off-putting.

Review: Savage Grace is based on a book about the Baekeland family, who epitomized “dysfunctional” before that was a buzzword. Tom Kalin’s bumpy direction and Howard Rodman’s choppy script make it feel as if the cinematic adaptation begins in Chapter 3.

Over a 26-year period, we follow Bakelite plastics heir Brooks (Stephen Dillane); socialite wife Barbara (Julianne Moore); and their son, Tony, through five countries and enough elements for a week of Jerry Springer: Dad steals Son’s girlfriend, Son kills Mom … shortly after he and Mom get it on. (That scene is as uncomfortable to watch as one might expect.)

Kalin and Rodman said they found the story “juicy.” I’d call their presentation “stylized.” Even Moore, master of 1950s housewives thanks to Far from Heaven and The Hours, can’t overcome Savage Grace’s overly arch dialogue and lurching rhythms. Meanwhile, a parade of young flesh, particularly from Eddie Redmayne ( the adult Tony) and Hugh Dancy (gay walker Simon), seems to have come out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog - as do the actors’ performances.

It’s also distracting that Moore never ages from 1946 to 1972. Did Barbara’s limitless tobacco supply come in a wrinkle-free formula?