Although frequently hailed as America's greatest living film maker, some could argue that Martin Scorsese still does not get the respect he deserves. Alice doesn't Live here Anymore isn't the same kind of flashy, attention grabbing film as it's predecessor Mean Streets (1973) or Scrosese's Alice follow up Taxi Driver (1976), this finds Scorsese in a rare thoughtful mood, offering the female flipside to Travis Bickle's male show of emotion. But Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is just as good as those two films.
It shows Scorsese's ability to take on a very simple project, and through his talent and urge to experiment, make it something that seems very fresh and very exciting. Take for instance the fantastic opening, a badly dubbed, red tinted play on an old studio film. Then we are brought into the film with a blistering crane shot down the street and to the window of a non-descript suburban home.
The plot should be boring, nothing much happens for a while, but thanks to Scorsese's energy we can't stop watching, he manages to make us care about the characters. But he's not alone, he's helped by probably one of America's greatest actresses Ellen Byrstyn, she makes Alice a desperate, funny, lonely, independent, yet still pathetic character, that's what's so great about this film, all the characters are so brilliantly three dimensional.
Plus there's wonderful support from the always-reliable Harvey Kietel, Diane Ladd, and the youngsters Alfred Lutter and Jodi Foster. The only let down of the film is Kristofferson, he really didn't have the talent for such an important role, one can't help thinking that perhaps they should have had Kietel and Kristofferson to switch roles, that might have worked better.
I think one of the reasons Alice is so forgotten is because of the brilliance of Taxi Driver; it completely over shadows this small little film. Or maybe because it's a little to dependant on characters for today's audiences, that ending just wouldn't fly with the Pearl Harbour/Sixth Sense crowd of today's multiplexes. Any way I would recommend any fans of thoughtful seventies cinema to seek out this great film immediately, and see one of the best films from America's greatest living film maker, and most underrated actress.
8/10
It shows Scorsese's ability to take on a very simple project, and through his talent and urge to experiment, make it something that seems very fresh and very exciting. Take for instance the fantastic opening, a badly dubbed, red tinted play on an old studio film. Then we are brought into the film with a blistering crane shot down the street and to the window of a non-descript suburban home.
The plot should be boring, nothing much happens for a while, but thanks to Scorsese's energy we can't stop watching, he manages to make us care about the characters. But he's not alone, he's helped by probably one of America's greatest actresses Ellen Byrstyn, she makes Alice a desperate, funny, lonely, independent, yet still pathetic character, that's what's so great about this film, all the characters are so brilliantly three dimensional.
Plus there's wonderful support from the always-reliable Harvey Kietel, Diane Ladd, and the youngsters Alfred Lutter and Jodi Foster. The only let down of the film is Kristofferson, he really didn't have the talent for such an important role, one can't help thinking that perhaps they should have had Kietel and Kristofferson to switch roles, that might have worked better.
I think one of the reasons Alice is so forgotten is because of the brilliance of Taxi Driver; it completely over shadows this small little film. Or maybe because it's a little to dependant on characters for today's audiences, that ending just wouldn't fly with the Pearl Harbour/Sixth Sense crowd of today's multiplexes. Any way I would recommend any fans of thoughtful seventies cinema to seek out this great film immediately, and see one of the best films from America's greatest living film maker, and most underrated actress.
8/10