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The Maysles Brothers, Albert And David Maysles

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Perhaps the most well-known innovators of the direct cinema genre of documentary film are the Maysles brothers, Albert and David Maysles. Together they created what became one of the most revolutionary contributions to direct cinema, Grey Gardens. This documentary film features the daily lives of a mother and her middle aged daughter, both named Edith Beale, who live in squalor despite their numerous recounts of their luxurious past. Through this film, the Maysles brothers went against the aesthetic of film which centered its efforts on telling the viewer how to feel through the creation of ideal lighting and straightforward dialogue. Rather than planning ahead of time, they filmed long shots of undirected footage and recorded the …show more content…

During the performances of their own selves, they choose to reveal a particular part. However, they inevitably express more about themselves than they realize. Along with this, the viewer experiences glimpses of their deeper self slipping out. Due to the spontaneity of the Beale women’s performances, the Maysles brothers allow the women to provide their own dialogue through a blend of their own memories and imagination captured in the moment. These notions are exemplified while Big Edie sings along to the song “Tea for Two” while replaying one of her own self recordings from her days as a singer. From her facial expressions and how she asks her daughter to dance, the viewer can see how Big Edie is attempting to shift some of her spotlight to her daughter, for reasons that are up to interpretation. Although Little Edie dances throughout the film and even has her own big musical number at the end waving the American flag, she refuses to dance in that moment. Essentially, Little Edie is choosing not to perform and in doing so reveals more depth to that moment. It is only through having that choice that the viewer is able to appreciate it. Since the Maysles chose to include their technology, the film becomes the story of the Beale women during a time which they were filmed. Ultimately, this directly allows for the viewer to come to their own conclusion about the performance (or non-performance) itself as well as the social actors as

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