仿佛被社会遗忘的伊迪母女隐居在纽约州东汉普顿的住所“灰色花园”。母亲大伊迪·布维尔·比尔（杰西卡·兰格 Jessica Lange饰）终日百无聊赖，养了一群聊以慰藉的猫。小伊迪·布维尔·比尔（德鲁·巴里摩尔 Drew Barrymore饰）则很喜欢热闹，为了照顾母亲不得不放弃模特生涯，以及对成就和名声的梦想，甚至她对爱情和家庭的憧憬。古怪的伊迪母女，就这样过着脆弱而贵族式的生活。 本片翻拍自1975年风靡一时的同名经典纪录片，根据真实事件改编而成。这对行为怪异的伊迪母女是杰奎琳·肯尼迪的远亲，她们长年隐居于纽约州东汉普顿的住所“灰色花园”。这座破败不堪的老宅因为跳蚤和浣熊泛滥，因而面对将被拆除的下场，母女两人的怪事也随即成为各大报刊的头条。In 1973, documentary filmmaking brothers Albert Maysles and David Maysles decide to change the focus of their latest project from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to her aunt and older cousin, mother and daughter Edith Bouvier Beale - called Big Edie - and Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, who were found living in squalor and isolation in the longtime family mansion, Grey Gardens, in East Hampton, New York. Through flashbacks starting in 1936, the path mother and daughter take from their socialite past to the time that the Mayles brothers show their completed film is shown. Big Edie's husband/Little Edie's father, Phelan Beale, controlled the family money, which included providing singing lessons to Big Edie with musician Gould Strong, with who she had more than a musical interest. Big Edie saw herself as a singer, first and foremost. Mother and father also controlled Little Edie's life, they who wanted her to stay at Grey Gardens rather than pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer and actress in New York City. Phelan and Big Edie's eventual divorce, Little Edie's ill-fated relationship with Cap Krug in New York City, Big Edie's failing health, the pressure Little Edie faced to care for her mother, and a dwindling trust, which is used to maintain a life at Grey Gardens, slowly transform the lives of mother and daughter over the four decades. Mother and daughter agree to be the subjects of the documentary film in an effort to regain their past careers and glories, which never really materialized in their younger days.
