**By: Louisa Moore / www.ScreenZealots.com**

_This film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival_

Having experienced a close friend stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship,” Alice, Darling” really hit home. It’s a story (by screenwriter Alanna Francis) that captures the realism of what it’s like as an observer, and what I can only imagine it feels like to be the person suffering in silence. This isn’t a movie that is pleasant to watch, but that’s not why it falters. The themes are absolutely important, but director Mary Nighy chooses a path that feels like an Afterschool Special with its overt messaging. This is what ultimately hurts the film.

Alice (Anna Kendrick) has found her dream man in Simon (Charlie Carrick). He’s handsome, successful, charming, and seems like a good boyfriend. When she agrees to reconnect with her two best friends Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) at a getaway to a quiet lake cottage, they begin to sense something isn’t right. The man is always checking up on her, texting all the time, and making their friend anxious and distant. After Alice spills that she had to lie to Simon and tell him that she’s on a business trip instead of a mini vacation, Tess and Sophie pry deeper. The truth comes to light as they learn that their best friend is trapped in an emotionally and psychologically abusive partnership.

Intimate stories like this expose important issues that are overwhelmingly specific to women. Too many of us know friends or family members who have been through a similar situation, and it speaks volumes that a good number of viewers will relate to this film on a more personal level. It’s easy to judge when it’s not happening to you, and the film is a wake-up call not only for those experiencing abuse to reach out, but for those around them to be alert and learn to spot the red flags that are so easy to miss.

When Nighy chooses to focus on the female friendships and characters, the film is at its best. Kendrick, Mosaku, and Horn have a natural rapport, which makes their performances feel real. Kendrick is especially heartbreaking, and her turn as an anxiety-ridden woman who feels trapped shows an impressive dramatic range. The actors do their best with this story of friendship and abuse, but the material makes for a tough transition from page to screen.

The film’s sluggish pacing is unnecessary, as are the half a dozen scenes of Alice pulling out her own hair. One, maybe two, would suffice and make the point, but Nighy keeps going. There’s also a distasteful subplot about a missing girl who is presumed to be dead. This story line serves as a heavy-handed metaphor that’s tacky and obnoxious, suggesting that is Alice doesn’t leave Simon, she’ll end up murdered in the woods someday, too. I found this component of the story to be so thoroughly off-putting that it overshadowed the rest of the film. The ending is borderline corny camp, too.

“Alice, Darling” tells an important story about how self doubt can be detrimental to finding the courage to stand up, let go, and move on. Too bad it isn’t more subtle (or effective) in its messaging.

My first mistake was getting my hopes up that a movie from my home country would be good.
My next mistake was not reading the synopsis.
My last mistake was watching it.

Anna Kendrick really wasn't bad at all but unfortunately the script and plot was. Where do I start?

We are expected to believe her boyfriend is "abusive" when all the context we are given is him having some paint/photo gala and asking her if she wants a donut saying it's ok to eat sugar once in a while. *gasp* Oh, and let's not forget he enjoys having sex with his girlfriend... yes, I said it...a man has (whispers) sex with his girlfriend.
It was so bad I had absolutely NO clue that this is where the movie actually wanted to head!!

Instead they take us on a journey where we see Alice pulling and twisting her hair which leads one to believe she has mental health issues.
She talks to her friends about how she feels bad she had a "sex dream" about another man and her friends act as though it's perfectly fine and SHE'S the one that is weird for feeling bad.
It continues on with the abusive "friends" at the cabin where Alice is clearly having issues with Tess and doesn't seem to even want to be there.
We find out that Alice lied to her boyfriend to be there but this is perfectly fine according to her friends, again, we have basically zero context as to WHY this is fine other than her abusive friends sayhing so. (Imagine if the roles were reversed and it had been the boyfriend that went on a vacation without Alice and lied to her about it)
Alice catches a poster for a missing girl (Andrea) and here's where I rreally got confused... not knowing the synopsis for the movie I began thinking THIS is what the movie had to be about!
Alice has mental health issues (pulling/twisting of hair)... her friends are possibly dead and she is struggling dealing with it, their odd behaviour and manipulation (getting her to go to the cabin, taking away her phone/keys and so on) of her would seem to infer this, her boyfriend is genuinely concerned for her and trying to help, the missing girl (Andrea) is either what triggered this episode or was going to turn out to be Alice all along (the lipstick she finds really led me to believe the latter part would be true), her "friends" were always jealous of her boyfriend and the time shespent with him, how much she loved him, and were constantly trying to break them up (even after death) and Alice felt torn between the two, but then....
The boyfriend shows up and all of a sudden he's an asshole, not until after the friends attack him just for shwoing up (with food and cooks for them none-the-less) and treat him like shit without ever really giving us a reason why leading to him asking (perhaps demanding? I don't even recall now, not as though it really mattered at this point) Alice to leave with him. As they are leaving suddenly her "friends" are standing up for her, saying "no" as though this is some triumphant moment for women when all it was was a confusing moment in the movie that hadn't bothered to put any real plot together that made you feel like Alice even needed saving other than from her friends or herself perhaps.
All this and I still have no idea what the Andrea angle was supposed to be about or what happened to her. Were we just supposed to awesome she was abuducted and that it had to be by a man because.... man bad?? and why did it affect Alice but not her friends?!?!
My God! This could have been sooooo much better had it actually been about her struggling with mental health issues and having lost her friends while still dealing with an abusive relationship with a man she loved. The Andrea angle would have made sense, her going to the cabin with her abusive/manipulative friends would have made sense, her lying to get away from her boyfriend while still thinking about him and yearning to be with him would have made sense, heck even her dream about being with another man but feeling bad would have made sense!!... but this drivel!!... left me confused, asking questions, looking up just WTF was the plot supposed to actually be about!!!

Thriller? not a chance. Drama? hardly.

If you could take Anna's performance and apply it to a different movie it would have had a great chance of being an excellent film but this one fell way way short of anything worth while.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/alice-darling-review

"Alice, Darling brilliantly tackles the sensitive topic of abusive relationships. Alanna Francis' script stands out with a profound, respectful look into an emotionally disturbed Anna Kendrick - career-best performance - but also into the genuine best of female friendship.

A non-exploitative look into how psychological violence can be as traumatic as any other kind of physical abuse, as well as how insanely difficult it is to leave such a toxic relationship.

Mary Nighy cannot escape the subgenre's formulaic boundaries, but she should be proud of such an enlightening, impactful feature directorial debut."

Rating: B+