Mary Nighy’s “Alice, Darling”

Alice, Darling (2022)

Anna Kendrick’s best performance since Up in the Air is an undertold story of coercive control and emotional abuse told well but without flourish

My mind drawing parallels between this and The Quiet Girl did no favours to Mary Nighy’s feature directorial debut but that is not to say it isn’t good. It’s a solid effort with a great lead performance from Anna Kendrick and a solid script from Alanna Francis that keeps things suitably grounded eschewing the overly dramatic or shocking.

Telling the story of Alice(Anna Kendrick) and her getaway with childhood friends Sophie(Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess(Kaniehtiio Horn), it slowly reveals layers to her relationship with boyfriend Simon(Charlie Carrick) instigated by her time away. The story of coercive control and emotional abuse is woefully underrepresented in media and this does a good job of shedding light on the topic. Very few countries currently have laws around psychological violence and coercive control including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, and Ireland. Hawaii is the only state in the US to have statutes and Australia has legislation in the pipeline. Stories around the topic need telling.

That said, the film doesn’t make the most of cinematic storytelling to enhance the core story and that is likely down to inexperience from Nighy and cinematographer Mike McLaughlin. It can feel a bit flat at times, but that’s not to say what we see doesn’t work. It does but it’s charged principally by Kendrick’s performance.

At a slim (perhaps too slim) 90 minutes, it’s a competent and engaging story that feels as if it could have been something greater.