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probing of Tony and in many areas merely skims the surface, not fully fleshing out events that superficially appear to have been extremely influential in Tony Baekeland's ultimate fate. Tackling a true story and portraying a real person is daunting enough but to have the added psychosexual abnormalities forces a more accomplished tapestried work if the performance is to be believed and connectable. On this level, Redmayne excels.

As Brooks, Tony award winner Stephen Dillane is the perfect counterpart to Julianne Moore. As Brooks, his performance is calculating with controlled emotional outbursts piquing at just the right moment to make one jump in their seat. Theatre trained at the Old Vic Theatre School in London, Dillane breathes an air of faux-sophisticated aristocracy into Brooks that serves as a double-edged sword to Brooks' inner desires and familial and social pressures. And while the end result is not as engrossing as the performance by Moore, it is nevertheless solidly fitting the character.

Written by Howard Rodman based on the book by Natalie Robins and Steven Aronson, Barbara Baekeland's story is well-enough adapted for the big screen, but disappointingly often leans towards the sensationalistic and perverse, sacrificing richer character development. At the end of the film I was still left wondering, how Barbara Baekeland developed the psychosexual problems and violent tendencies that led to not only her demise and that of her son. There is no explanation and for the behavioral patterns here, the film and the characters cry out for more.

Tom Kalin returns to the director's chair after a 15 year absence. A daring character study of abstract perversion based on true events, Kalin utilizes the camera as an aid to developing the emotional erraticism of the characters but has a fluidity that counter-balances the story itself providing an intimacy for the audience. Calling on cinematographer Juan Miquel Azpiroz, the lensing is crisply vibrant showcasing the eras and European locations to their finest. Particularly breathtaking are the scenes in Catalonia. Notable is the detail and delicacy with which sexual encounters are lensed with each scene noticeably and appropriately lit for the parties involved and the emotion raging at the time. This is a nuance many may miss but shouldn't. It speaks volumes as to the talents of Azpiroz and Kalin.

And for those of you not familiar with the original events and media circus back in 72 and who are wondering what happened to the Baekeland's after Barbara was stabbed in the kitchen, make sure you stay for the credits. The epilogue will prove that the Baekeland's give new meaning to the term "dysfunctional family."

Visually stunning and performance driven, SAVAGE GRACE has a carnal savagery that will ravage sensibilities and senses.

Learn more about this author, Debbie Elias.
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