Hamptons International Film Festival Screening

Grey's Anatomy (HIFF 1996)

Runtime: 80 min

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Spalding Gray

Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven) and master monologuist Spalding Gray, have joined forces and created one of the most original, charming and witty cinematic collaborations of recent years.

Speaking to the camera from behind a desk, beautifully lit with his trusty microphone before him, Gray begins to tell his tale. It starts when Gray is diagnosed with a rare ocular condition called a “pucker.” Several doctors assure him that surgery is the only cure. Terrified of anyone—regardless of how qualified—inserting a sharp object into his eye, Gray begins a quest for an alternative cure. Tracking his experiences from a diet regimine fanatic in New Jersey to a hands-on healer in Asia, Gray is the consummate raconteur.

Soderbergh cleverly underscores Gray’s own experience by including interviews, shot in black and white, with people from all walks of life who’ve each had their own bizarre eye accident. Gray’s slightly morbid, highly neurotic testimonial combined with Soderbergh’s irreverent, delicate touch, makes GRAY’S ANATOMY both funny and riveting.