"Grey Gardens" is a documentary that follows the eccentric lives of former East Hampton socialites, "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Beale. The mother-daughter duo, who are relatives to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, made headlines in 1972 when their deteriorating estate became a target to health inspectors and was deemed unlivable due to the grotesquely dangerous environment. The once-grand mansion was now home to numerous wild animals, with abandoned dusty rooms filled with animal feces human waste and fleas. Despite their circumstances, Big and Little Edie acted and spoke like two performers putting on a show, reenacting their favorite musical numbers, singing at operatic volume and engaging in melodramatic squabbles.

Following the film's release, "Grey Gardens," was highly revered as a pioneer within the documentary genre and gained a cult following, mostly due to the lively personas of Big and Little Edie. The documentary sparked several revivals and interpretations that include Broadway musicals and HBO biopics.

A new film, entitled "That Summer," serves as a prequel to "Grey Gardens," as never-before-seen footage reveals the devastating fall of the Beale family and the psychological turmoil the mother and daughter suffer from. A photographer and family friend, Peter Beard and the Beale's niece, Lee Radziwill, act as narrators for the documentary. Both try to make sense of the Beales' situation, providing behind-the-scenes facts and anecdotes. When we are initially introduced to the Beale family in "That Summer," we learn that Peter Beard and Lee Radziwill are the first visitors that the estate has welcomed in five years.

The documentary repeatedly rolls clips of the Beales under emotional distress while trying to appear ready and presentable for the cameramen. Their fixation on appearance and beauty is a common motif throughout the documentary, regardless of their dilapidated surroundings. The obsessive primping and fussing is a symbol of the Beales' toxic nostalgia for the past; their past being the glorious post-World War I era in which Little Edie was busy socializing in East Hampton's debutante circuit and Big Edie was seriously pursuing a singing career.

The now-aging beauties still take care of themselves, whether it be applying lipstick or dieting- the fixation is endless and deeply affects their outlook on life. For instance, when Little Edie stares into the camera and expresses her deep unhappiness about living in Grey Garden, her mother interjects. "You should get up and make yourself beautiful. That's what I do," says Big Edie. She elaborates and advises her daughter that she'll never know who she is going to meet; she might meet her future husband for example. "Yeah. It's all I need, a new husband," replies Little Edie through a forced smile and pained expression.

In her narration, Lee Radziwill explains how gifted and talented Little Edie was in her youth: a Macy's model and Harvard graduate who aspired to become a Hollywood star. However, Little Edie had to return to Grey Gardens, after relentless begging of her mother, who was ill and recently divorced at the time. Lee Radziwill illustrates that Big Edie essentially "locked up" her daughter for twenty years and the duo was inseparable.

Despite the delusions, isolation, arguments, and filth, Big and Little Edie depicted the significance in being creative, imaginative, humorous and entertaining while persevering through devastating occurrences. Peter Beard appropriately summarizes the two individuals: "A great inner poetry. Bringing up new ideas, talking to the cats. It was always amazing. They were in a dream world, and it was okay."

"That Summer" is available on Google Play and Amazon.