The story is based on the highly dysfunctional relationship between heiress and socialite Barbara Daly Baekeland and her son, Antony.

The film stars Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Elena Anaya, and Hugh Dancy.

The film is based on the true story of Barbara Daly Baekeland (Moore), her husband Brooks Baekeland (Dillane), heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune, and their only child Antony (Redmayne), who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The story begins with Antony's birth and follows the family to the time of his arrest for the murder of his mother.

[2] Peter Bradshaw writing in The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars, describing it as "a gripping, coldly brilliant and tremendously acted movie.