his son is gay and therefore "unfit." Beyond that, schizophrenic tendencies are overtaking any sense of normality in the child. Mortified by these accusations and herself in denial, Barbara begs Brooks to allow Tony to see a psychiatrist to clear his head, an avenue unbefitting the likes of a Baekeland and a method which Brooks decries and refuses to permit.
As time progresses, Barbara's instability, violent outbursts and erratic and erotic behavior increase, as do her sexual dalliances, as she coerces girls to have sex with Tony in an effort to prove to Brooks (and let's face it, herself) that Tony is "normal". Brooks, now completely disenchanted with Barbara and Tony, makes his own changes in an effort to have some degree of normalcy and stability. And Tony, well Tony is his mother's puppet and pawn. With his own inner rages, eroticism, violence and manipulative manners taking hold and Barbara fighting for her own continued co-dependence on Tony, she ultimately seduces her own son in an attempt to not only keep him for herself, but to "cure" his gayness." But her cure backfires and Antony stabs her with a kitchen knife.
Calling the police himself, Tony is found in their London home sitting on the floor next to his mother's lifeless body - ordering Chinese food.
Julianne Moore is an emotional chameleon. She needs no costumes, no set. She can morph into any persona, time, space or place with just her emotional palette leading to a satiatingly mesmerizing performance. Luminous and beauteous, as Barbara, she fills the screen with enigmatic energy and emotion, lending to the complexities of the character. With a vibrancy and depth that balances the delicacy of the psychological tightrope walked by the real Barbara Baekeland, with clipped delivery befitting her "wanted station in life" she breathes intrigue and understanding into the character that neither trial testimony, a book nor this script do justice. Exuding a raw sexuality, each scene is more emotionally provocative than the last. Her chemistry with both Eddie Redmayne's Tony and Stephen Dillane's Brooks is scorching. As comes as no surprise, this is another Oscar caliber performance by Moore.
With impressive, albeit few, film and theatre performances to his credit, the androgynous Eddie Redmayne is delicious. As Tony, his debaucheristic activities are often exciting and enticing with nuanced multi-textural layerings of psychoses a la Norman Bates. Unfortunately, the script doesn't provide much psychological
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