Movie Review

Film Review: ALICE, DARLING (2022): Mary Nighy’s Movie is Powerful and Moving with Anna Kendrick in Top Form

Anna Kendrick Alice Darling

Alice, Darling Review

Alice, Darling (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Mary Nighy, written by Alanna Francis and starring Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick, Wunmi Mosaku, Mark Winnick, Daniel Stolfi, Carolyn Fe, Gordon Harper, Mairi Babb, Susan Applewhaite, Ethan Mitchell, James M. Jenkinson, Lindsay Leese, Toni Ellwand and Deborah Grover.

Mary Nighy’s emotionally powerful film, Alice, Darling is about an abusive relationship between an overbearing artist named Simon (Charlie Carrick) and the likable (but flawed) Alice referred to in the film’s title, played by the excellent Anna Kendrick. This film is a very well-made picture about how Alice is forced to reevaluate her life in regard to her destructive relationship with Simon which has affected her day-to-day activities in devastating ways. Kendrick is quite effective in her lead role which manages to display a wide range of emotions from the talented actress. It is, perhaps, her most nuanced performance to date.

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Alice is a hard worker with two close, supportive female friends, Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku). Alice is always beautifying herself and trying to please Simon, but she never feels good enough to please him. Tess’s 30th birthday is coming up and she would like Alice to go on vacation with her and Sophie. Alice is scared to tell Simon the truth and makes up a lie so she can go with her friends into the woods on vacation for a much-needed getaway.

While with her friends, Alice loses one of her earrings and becomes worried about Simon getting mad at her. She goes underwater to look for the earring as her friends look on worried about her state of mind. Alice is not realistic about the give and take that a normal relationship should have. It takes convincing for Alice to finally stop corresponding with Simon via text messages while on vacation. That’s when trouble will start as Simon will obviously not take well to Alice’s choice to temporarily ignore him.

There are some interesting bonding scenes between the three central women in the film. The most entertaining scene is when the three ladies start to move and groove walking together while singing the song “Stay” by Lisa Loeb. Sophie, earlier in the film, even performs her own rendition of that terrific song which is from the Reality Bites soundtrack. On the other end of the spectrum, there is a tension filled scene between Tess and Alice which is very realistic and terrifically acted as Tess tries to convince Alice she must live for herself, not just for Simon. Tess cares about Alice but needs her to understand the importance of their own friendship. Kendrick, Horn and Mosaku are like a well-oiled machine and work great together overall in this complex film.

Another subplot of Alice, Darling involves the disappearance of a young girl in the area the three women are vacationing in. This is the weakest segment of the film because the director doesn’t seem to make the necessary parallels to Alice’s story as convincingly as possible. This plotline will still sustain some audience attention, though.

That being said, Carrick’s role is very believably acted, and we truly feel for Alice’s unfortunate and dire predicament. Kendrick has never been better in a dramatic role and puts everything necessary into her character in terms of subtext and, especially, plausibility. Alice is so consumed by her toxic relationship that she finds herself pulling hairs from her head occasionally. Kendrick amazes in a fine piece of acting here.

One scene plays late in the movie between Alice and Simon. It’s an unusual sex scene of sorts that is hard to decipher and its ambiguous nature is one of the film’s few flaws. This scene could leave viewers scratching their heads trying to figure out its true purpose. Without giving too much away, it’s hard to tell what either character is getting from the interaction that occurs. That may, indeed, be the point.

Still, though, Alice, Darling is a haunting portrait of emotional abuse that teaches viewers not to ignore the signs of a doomed relationship similar to the one we see in the movie. Any beneficial romantic relationship in life commands mutual respect and this film certainly drives that message home. Anna Kendrick is definitely at the top of her game in this recommended and very moving picture.

Rating: 7.5/10

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Thomas Duffy

Thomas Duffy is a graduate of the Pace University New York City campus and has been an avid movie fan all of his life. In college, he interviewed film stars such as Minnie Driver and Richard Dreyfuss as well as directors such as Tom DiCillo and Mark Waters. He is the author of nine works of fiction available on Amazon. He's been reviewing movies since his childhood and posts his opinions on social media. You can follow him on Twitter. His user handle is @auctionguy28.
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