Alice, Darling Review: Slow, But An Effective Take On Emotional Sexual Abuse & Friendship

Mary Nighy makes her directorial debut with the psychological thriller Alice, Darling, starring Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick, and Wunmi Mosaku. A psychological thriller has the liberty to go slow as the subject has certain pauses and moments that can absorb viewers. Yet, Alice, Darling is quite slow despite its short runtime, which doesn't make much sense to OTT audiences. Everyone has a fast-forward button on their fingers, so even that isn't an issue here. Rest assured, there is something engrossing and effective in this so-called psychological thriller that is more like a psychological drama with less thrill and suspense. Moreover, its subject doesn't allow it to keep any thrill, as it has to be brutal and deeply moving. Alice, Darling is the story of a married woman, Alice (Anna Kendrick), who is in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Simon (Charlie Carrick). They would have sex, but it wouldn't be a two-sided affair. With less pleasure attached, it's just forceful physical sex and nothing else. He would ask her to send selfies, and she had to send them and do a little sex chat—reluctantly. Psychologically disturbed and unstable, Alice finds a getaway for a while with her two girlfriends, Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn). The three friends plan an outing and spend quality time together. However, Alice's psychological horrors and sex dreams don't leave her free. She starts ignoring Simon, only to have him come uninvited to spoil their party. Will she be able to tackle his oppressive behaviour with the help of two friends?Alice, Darling is a slow film (screenplay by Alanna Francis), and that definitely leaves out the topic of repeat viewing. In my opinion, what it has for one-time viewing is all that matters. The film is a harrowing take on sexual relationships, with emotional torture. Of course, some scenes have to be brutal and vulgar to express the sensitivity of the subject. Yet, I feel that it could have added a few hard-hitting speeches from at least one of the girls. The silence speaks, but still, that special line is missing that I would've loved to use here. I didn't get any such quotes from the film. Maybe that "I can't do another wrong thing," but again, it does not define the fightback. The best moment has to be the sex scene in the pre-climax sequence when Alice indirectly and silently slaps Simon by giving him a soulless physical pleasure that has no feel, no vibes, and no heart.Anna Kendrick as Alice leads the show all the way. Her performance is really worth watching. If you're thinking of watching the film for her, then I assure you, you won't be disappointed. Of course, there are other things too, but anyway, a lead actor is always one of the biggest reasons to watch a movie and to recommend a movie. Charlie Carrick is an antagonist without any antagonism. That's what makes his character more effective, and he has done a good job as an actor. Wunmi Mosaku, a black woman, catches the eye sooner than expected. Somehow you start expecting heroic stuff from her, and then she delivers what's needed. The other lady, Kaniehtiio Horn, has also done decent work with her role. There is no big supporting cast here, but whatever there is, it's okay.Alice, Darling plays smartly on the technical front. The cinematography is good, as the cameraman gets close-ups and zoomed ones right with a perfect impact. It's a disaster in a few scenes, though—one has to be that above mentioned pre-climax scene. I just loved the way he got the close shot of Tess and Sophie touching Alice in the climax, not once but twice. The background score is nice, whereas the editing is below par. On first thought, I would imagine a female director taking on a subject like this, and that's natural too. Mary Nighy proves why I was right to have that notion. She picked a challenging, sensitive, yet important topic like sexual harassment in a relationship to make her debut, and she has left a mark for sure. As a whole, Alice, Darling may be a depressing film to watch, but it really proves two points it intended to prove. One, how difficult it is to be in an oppressive relationship at an early age, and two, how important friends are to fighting against social norms.