Bratty piano prodigy Boyd Grayson (Chris Colfer) delights in bringing men back to his opulent family mansion for sex, mainly to taunt his strict, legacy-obsessed mother Jacqueline (Alice Krige) who disapproves of his gay lifestyle. He calls her a “homophobic cunt,” but it’s perhaps more that Jacqueline doesn’t mind his gayness per se, it’s just that it comes with the problem of needing an heir that he is highly unlikely to deliver. Her obsession with carrying on the family legacy dates back to one of their ancestors who felt they could achieve immortality through heirs. Paintings of these ancestors cover the manor and haunt Boyd as he moves around under their watchful gaze—though he is happy to put on a show as a big Fuck You to them all.
The mother-son relationship is one of the strongest elements of The Restoration at Grayson Manor, which is at its most interesting when Colfer and Krige are left to spar, hurling cutting and cruel insults at one another as though for sport. The chaotic energy alive in these scenes reveals a troubled history between the pair. But when a freak accident leaves Boyd without hands after pushing his mother to safety, Jacqueline hires Dr. Jeffrey Tannock (Daniel Adegboyega), a cutting-edge scientist who works to deliver groundbreaking technology that will allow Boyd’s prosthetic hands to be controlled by his mind. Assistant Lee (Declan Reynolds) and nurse Claudia (Gabriela Garcia Vargas) are also employed to deliver 24-hour care to Boyd. Soon enough, the hands seem to develop a life of their own through Boyd’s subconscious desires.
Krige is excellent as the domineering mother whose obsession for an heir drives her to extreme lengths, with a voice that is utterly cutting in its elegance. Boyd is a role that Colfer was born to play, which almost feels like Glee’s Kurt Hummel on steroids (complimentary)—but the actor is underutilised. Mostly bedridden or sat around in chairs, Colfer’s voice does the most work as he continues to hurl insults at his mother and even at Lee and Claudia, though his delivery is every bit as cruel and biting as Krige’s.
Directed by Glenn McQuaid and co-written with Clay McLeod Chapman, the script also struggles with Claudia’s intriguing character, a young woman in her prime who happens to have a frog and is often performing strange rituals. She’s left to her own devices in scenes that often feel detached from the film as her main purpose is kept under wraps until towards the end. Ultimately, there are too many subplots which are interesting but feel like they burden the narrative. Despite all the characters possessing unlikeable qualities, the writing does mostly create sympathy for their plights. Boyd is particularly difficult because he’s never been accepted by his mother for who he is and the pressure that comes with wanting him to live in line with traditional family values when being gay often means living a non-traditional lifestyle.
Unfortunately, The Restoration at Grayson Manor is emotionally hollow considering its strong social themes, as it seems to prioritise the absurd and melodramatic parts of its narrative. McQuaid and Chapman don’t bother to explore Boyd’s inner world as he adjusts to life as an amputee while waiting for his prosthetics, bar a few lines that reference some important threads. Does he miss playing piano? Yes, because it gave him an escape from his mother. This is a significant theme that is kept in the shadows, even as his hands begin to lash out as a physical manifestation of generational trauma and familial expectation—but it’s not enough to convey the experience of becoming disabled. Much doesn’t even come from the fact that Boyd can’t jerk himself off. Lee lends a helping hand as the pair develop a spark of romance, but Boyd doesn’t seem too phased by any of these changes to his life.
The Restoration at Grayson Manor is camp, outrageous, and fun. It’s not afraid to be bold and eccentric, which is something I admire. It’s chaotic but somewhat stilted in execution, though it had its moments, including plenty of quotable lines all the way through. The prosthetics hands themselves are entertaining when they get to have their fun, crafted from a mix of practical and digital effects by VFX supervisor Florian Grünberger—but things don’t go all Idle Hands until the film’s climax. There’s pleasure in writing a script that gets to have this much freedom and enjoyment in crafting entertaining and acerbic insults, which there’s no doubt were fun as hell for Colfer and Krige to act out. While a film as absurd as this one doesn’t always need to provide deeper insight into its themes, the themes here are excellent and deserve more attention, as does the narrative which struggles to find a balance between everything it has going on. Still, The Restoration at Grayson Manor is a riot and will absolutely find its audience. If you’re even remotely curious, give it a watch.
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