Alice, Darling

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"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+

Alice, Darling is a surprisingly accurate portrayal of coercive abuse. Coercive abuse and control is the slow erosion of the victim's sense of self. There's no dramatic set-up with explosive drama or thrilling moments, which understandably can leave audiences wanting

Throughout the movie there are subtle cues of abuse. To an outsider the abuse is so insignificant it's not detectable. Leaving the victim thinking the reason for the abuse is their fault

This movie pays homage to the victims of abuse, empathetically and with great consideration. Alice, Darling is probably more for victims and their loved ones, than for a general audience. This could be the reason for the low score. It could serve as an introduction to those who are interested in coercive abuse

The actors does a great job of conveying the confusing reality of abuse, for the victim and those around her. The pacing could at times seem slow but it goes with the general theme of realism, rather than entertainment. In my opinion, the run-time was perfect. Any longer and the movie could've easily been a drudge fest. The dialogue is well-written and there must have been a lot of research involved.

It's not a movie that delves into absolutes, which makes it even more realistic

A well worth watch.

The reviews on here are so problematic. People are moaning this isn't entertaining, it has no thrills and excitement. This is what abuse feels like, numb and dull in the stomach.

People want to watch physical abuse, want the shocks and horror of dealing with abuse. But it's not always like that. Sometimes it's odd, weird and strange.

This feel is real. The panic of doing something wrong, that your friends notice you acting different. And realising yourself that there is a problem.

Alice is taken away from her life, with friends. She is out of the situation and then it gets unsettling when she isn't just concentrating on being a good girl to her partner.

Abuse is horrific. Sorry if this didn't 'excite' you or you found it boring. But I think it was very valid in how disconnected abuse can make you feel.

You're with a man who's very subtly coercive, in a relationship that's vile and corrosive, playing tricks with how you think, makes you wither, narrow, shrink, this is no way to spend your days, no life to live. Time with friends gives you a chance to float, reflect, of how your mind has crashed and burned, become a wreck, with their help they catch your fall, assist the break with a large maul, evict the poison from your heart, with great effect.

I thought Anna Kendrick was amazing as the mentally anguished and tortured Alice, who's fairy-tale romance had turned out to be anything but, as she finds out what friendship and love really can be, when those close truly care.

I didn't know how to write all the thoughts and feelings this movie made me feel. I also thought for a long time whether it is really worth writing everything, because the whole review will not be about the movie, but about the theme of this movie. I don't want to talk about this movie from a technical point of view, because I don't think it's the most important thing in this case. Yes, I think the movie is really good, but that's probably because I found so many similarities in it and I realized that I wasn't the only one who suffered from this kind of relationship. In short, the film is about a young woman trapped in an abusive relationship, and I think this is a very important topic to talk about, because an abusive relationship is very traumatic for people and their lives. There are many people in this world who are now in toxic relationships, and there are also many people who have been in this type of relationship before.

A very important point is that the film is very realistic. Of course, each person's case is different, but the whole point is abusive relationships and how being in them affects people's inner world and mental health. People feel trapped, like they have no other choice, they think that their partner is treating them badly out of love. For such people, it seems that this is how love should be, after all, just like in the movie, Simon said to Alice: "It's you and me. It's just us." Being in such a relationship is like losing yourself, at least in my opinion, the motif of the missing girl in the film shows exactly that. At that time you are absolutely addicted, if you go somewhere you feel guilty for not being with a partner, if you are having fun you feel guilty again for not being with a partner. When the partners of an abusive relationship are already completely attached to their victim, it becomes more and more difficult to escape from such a relationship.

But that's not the case, there is a way out of all these horrible things, whoever is reading this right now and is in a relationship like this, there is a way out. There will always be people around you in difficult times who really love and want to help. In the case of the film, it was Alice's friends who helped her escape from an abusive relationship. Although at first it seems that no one understands you, that everyone else is your enemy, but the truth is completely different.

Alice says: "I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes it feels like he can read my mind" and "There's nowhere left that I can actually be alone." And this is absolutely true, because people in such relationships lose themselves, forget what they really are, they can't even think logically anymore. Also, hair pulling is a very real experience caused by a very high level of stress. In fact, the movie looked so familiar that it was hard to watch.

I really highly recommend this movie because it does an excellent job of revealing the main idea and raising a very important issue. Some viewers may find it difficult to watch, but the film is definitely worth watching.