Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Alice, Darling Blu-ray Movie Review

Worry, darling.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 4, 2023

It's maybe just a little ironic that on the sole supplement included on this disc as a bonus feature, co-producers Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott mention that they didn't want Alice, Darling to come off as a so-called "Lifetime movie" about an abused woman, and yet that may be more or less what they ended up with. To be sure, Alice, Darling has little to none of the overt violence or even some of the smarmier aspects of both television and film offerings ranging from The Burning Bed to A Case of Rape to Sleeping with the Enemy to Enough to Big Little Lies . And while it may therefore be a bit more "subtle" than your average "desperate woman attempting to escape an abusive relationship" feature, it still unavoidably plies much of the same material, albeit within the context of a woman named Alice (Anna Kendrick) who, unlike many women in similar productions, has a strong and active support group attempting to help her. It's also salient to note, as many of the principal cast and crew do in the aforementioned supplement, that the "abuse" in this particular instance is not physical, but psychological, which in and of itself gives this effort a bit of a "moderated" tone, for what that's worth.

The film introduces Alice and boyfriend Simon (Charlie Carrick), who is obviously a control freak of sorts, though the relationship seems relatively stable. Hints are dropped, along with tufts of hair Alice pulls out of her head, in a number of almost throwaway moments which begin to unravel Alice's roiling psychological state. When she gets the chance for some time away with BFFs Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn ), she goes for it, though not without misleading Simon as to why she's leaving for a few days. Simon wants all of Alice's free time to be spent with him, obviously. In the meantime, a missing girl's case has caught Alice's attention, and there's some frankly far from subtle interstitial material dropping rather broad hints that Alice's predicament might lead to something similarly disastrous if she doesn't realize what's going on. That said, the film probably should be commended for not going any Grand Guignol route in terms of a late reveal offering Charlie as some kind of unrepentant murderer.

Instead, this is a rather "quiet" feature that slowly but surely documents Alice's growing awareness that while she may not have been "battered" in the traditional sense, she is in fact suffering from some of Simon's controlling behaviors. What's kind of odd about this conceit is that Alice seems to be a young woman with everything going for her: she's smart, articulate, employed and in many ways "in charge", which might at least slightly undercut a central premise of this film, though I'm sure there are large populations of women who might respond with a hearty, "Not necessarily", based on personal experience. One way or the other, Sophie and Tess ultimately coax at least a bit of information about Simon's behaviors out of Alice, which then of course leads to Simon showing up at the rural hideaway where the women are staying, ostensibly to bring Alice back with him.

A lot of film and television offerings based on the "abusive relationship" setup perhaps understandably "go for the gusto" in terms of displaying an out of control male basically pummeling a hapless female into submission, and if there is one undeniable plus to Alice, Darling, it's that it takes a much more "reserved" (for want of a better term) approach to this obviously fraught subject. But that may be part of the film's perceived undoing as well, as I'm sure some will be wondering why exactly Alice, who has so much going for her (including a strong support system), can't simply "cut to cord", so to speak, and leave the overly controlling Simon. A bit more context about Alice's background might have helped to fill in some blanks in that regard.

While there is a simmering subtext of passions just barely under control with regard to Simon, but in fact the only real "violence" (if it can be termed that) might come courtesy of Sophie, who relies on a bit of "heavy hitting" herself to stop Simon from departing with Alice. The film moves on to a kind of frankly cliché ridden final image that plays on some previous vignettes showing Alice literally "in over her head" in a lake. Suffice it to say, she manages to finally get her head above water as the film comes to a bittersweet but obviously hopeful ending.

Note: Brian Orndorf evidently liked Alice, Darling a bit more than I did when he reviewed its theatrical exhibition. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Alice, Darling Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Alice, Darling is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. There's not much technical data on this shoot available online that I could dredge up, and the making of featurette didn't adequately disclose any camera brand names for me to report here, but this is a nicely captured feature that I assume had a 2K DI (as always with my reviews, if anyone can point me to authoritative technical data of any kind, private message me, and I'll happily post an update here). Director Mary Nighy (Bill's daughter) and cinematographer Mike McLaughlin spend quite a bit of time on "nature interstitials" once the story moves to the countryside, which at least gives some nicely evocative shots of the forests and fields surrounding the cabin where the women stay. The aforementioned trope of Alice underwater can lead to some understandable murkiness which can't offer the same generally excellent detail levels that the bulk of the presentation does. Fine detail is quite expressive on everything from faces (especially courtesy of near hallucinogenic close-ups) to some of the fabrics on things like the furniture in the cabin.

Alice, Darling Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Alice, Darling features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that offers some noticeable immersion (no pun intended, given the repeated scenes of Alice underwater) in some of the outdoor material in particular. Ambient environmental effects regularly dot the side and rear channels in a number of outdoor sequences, while the surround channels are also regularly engaged courtesy of some source cues that provide underscoring. That said, this is an often subtle surround presentation that kind of mimics the film's slightly tamped down quality in terms of not offering anything overtly "showy" (or whatever the aural equivalent of that adjective might be). Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Alice, Darling Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Alice, Darling (HD; 10:19) is an okay EPK with some good interviews with the principal cast and crew.

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Alice, Darling Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The most compelling aspect of Alice, Darling, namely that Simon isn't a "traditionally" abusive boyfriend, may contribute to the film's lack of visceral emotional content, since Alice frankly never seems that threatened, and her panicked, near hysterical, reactions to some of what transpires may strike some as inconsistent with a character who seems to be so "together" in so many ways. Still, the film offers some really nice performances, especially from Mosaku and Horn as Alice's support system. Technical merits are solid and the one supplement enjoyable. With caveats noted and I'd say perhaps for women more than men, Recommended.