THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

Jackie and David Siegel, a billionaire real estate couple, triumphantly construct the largest privately-owned house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace together. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.

Ten years after its Best Director win at Sundance, few documentaries have proved as prescient as Lauren Greenfield’s shrewd, funny, and humane Queen of Versailles. Blisteringly ironic, it’s as clear-eyed and perceptive a portrait of the American dream as any offered up during the Great Recession.