Movie Notes: Alice

July 3rd, 2009

= 3 stars

Starring Mia Farrow, William Hurt, Joe Mantegna
Directed by Woody Allen

Synopsis

Alice Tate (Mia Farrow), a wealthy but bored Manhattan housewife, contemplates leaving her husband (William Hurt) after some mysterious treatments by an acupuncturist.

The Good

• Farrow shines as the central character, showing a wide range of emotions and juggling practically evey looney idea Allen throws her way.
• First appearance of an occult, otherworldly experience that the main character encounters which changes their perception of the world. This “occult” theme pops up again in Curse Of The Jade Scorpion and Scoop for example. The setup results in a few funny situations, namely the invisibility herb, and a misused love potion.
• Begins with Allen’s typical “let’s have an affair” situation, but ends in a different — and better — place. Some good thoughts on the illogical nature of romance, and finding a life’s purpose beyond materialism and marriage.

The Bad

• A bit overlong — several scenes could have been completely excised or used some editing, namely Alice meeting an old boyfriend.
• Alice’s acupuncturist Mr. Yang is portrayed an antiquated, xenophobic, 1930s style manner, with a halting accent. At one point his office is filled with opium smokers. There may have been some gongs and pentatonic scales.
• None of the aforementioned themes gets the full attention they deserve.

Conclusion

While Alice has some interesting thoughts and moments in its condemnation of the upper class boredom and lack of inner passion, it’s not told in the most entertaining fashion and suffers from a lack of focus. Thankfully, Farrow does a remarkable job and ultimately, earns that extra star.

Next Woody Allen Movie: Shadows And Fog
Previous Woody Allen Movie: Crimes And Misdemeanors

IMDB: Alice
Wikipedia: Alice
Rotten Tomatoes: Alice