Amazon.com: Alice is one of Woody Allen's more grounded whimsies, though viewers with a low tolerance for feyness might miss it. Here goes Mia Farrow again as a nattering Manhattanite with a girlie-girlie voice and a well-to-do husband of 16 years (a stockbroker played by William Hurt) who doesn't always notice whether she's in the room. One day a back pain sends her up a dim staircase in Chinatown to see an acupuncturist (the valedictory role of the beloved Keye Luke). He has quite a bag of tricks--including hypnosis and a versatile assortment of herbal teas--and enough insight to recognize that Alice's troubles lie somewhere other than her sacroiliac. Under Dr. Yang's ministrations, Alice goes on a Wonderland voyage through her own life, fantasizing about having an affair with a dusky stranger (Joe Mantegna), flitting about Manhattan as an invisible spirit, and--most unlikely of all--talking straight with her various relatives, past and present.
Like so many Allen films, Alice wavers between scenes imagined with deftness and precision (like Farrow and Mantegna's astonished mutual seduction) and other scenes and notions that are merely touched upon and then abandoned before they can develop any rhythm and complexity, persuade you they were worth including, and justify the presence of so many nifty performers--Judy Davis, Judith Ivey, Gwen Verdon, Robin Bartlett, Alec Baldwin, Holland Taylor, Cybill Shepherd, Blythe Danner, Julie Kavner, Caroline Aaron--who mostly wink in and out again as cameos. Nevertheless, almost all Woody's looking glasses are worth passing through at least once. --Richard T. Jameson
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Rating: - A cute tale of self discovery that benefits from Woody's unique vision...
The story or premise of `Alice' is quite simple, but Woody Allen's construction of the film and exploitation of the plot is far from it. Yes, `Alice' tells the story of a spoiled socialite who realizes that her life is far from a happy one despite all the so-called perks she receives and so she goes on a journey of self discovery that eventually ends in her happiness. Like I said, we've seen this before, but we have never seen it displayed in this manner.
Mia Farrow stars as Alice, and she pretty much reprises her role in Allen's superior `The Purple Rose of Cairo', playing her character somewhat mousy and underappreciated. The difference of course lies in her characters social status (Alice is wealthy, Cecilia was not) but Farrow's approach to character is very much the same. So Alice is married to Doug, a successful business man who doesn't seem to have too much time for Alice. When a back pain ... Read More
Rating: - Alice in Woodyland
Alice Tate (Mia Farrow) is living in New York City, married to Doug (William Hurt), a rich and successful businessman from a prosperous family. They have two children, a lavish condo and a large stable of servants. Alice spends her days shopping, getting manicures and pedicures, and so on. However, she's not very happy, and in searching for the reason for her unhappiness she has become a bit of a hypochondriac. When she finally goes to see an acupuncturist, Dr. Yang (Keye Luke), on several friends' advice because her back is bothering her, he tells her that her problem is in her head, not her back. Through his extremely unorthodox treatments, Alice gradually transforms her life.
This is a Woody Allen film, but Woody doesn't appear in it. It focuses on Mia throughout, with various literary allusions, mostly to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), but also in ways to A Christmas Carol ... Read More
Rating: - PARABLE FOR OUR PRESENT FREE MARKET MATERIALIST AGE: WEALTH HOLDS NO POWER, ONLY LOVE IN POVERTY AND RENUNCIATION FOR OTHERS
The US media cannot see it and thus will not tell you:
There is no joy in material wealth, only in absolute renunciation of wealth to give oneself to others in Love.
This is Allen's most well developed film technically with its stunning sets and exquisite cinematography, both by the best in the business of that time. The actors as well, from the briefest walk-on are top notch, and thus the New York review considers wasted. Not so; they are used exquisitely in perfect measure, and had no more to say. Brevity is the soul of wit, and their brief appearances merit another viewing. In fact for every reason this film demands another viewing, repeatedly.
In this film we find not only Allen's cinematic technical and directorial prowess on best display, but also his writing, which is profound and deeply moral and true and must be seen once more. There are two aspects to this writing, form ... Read More
Rating: - Tiny Alice
I having been retrospectively over the past year running through films Woody Allen directed, wrote, acted in or produced. Interestingly they run the gamut of his intellectual and cultural interests but I must admit that I did not realize how many of his films featured his old paramour Mia Farrow. She must be the number one actress featured in his various efforts. That is the case here with Allen's whimsical modern day take on the Alice in Wonderland saga in good old New York City (naturally).
Here Farrow is the unfulfilled wife of a stockbroker who along the way has lost her moorings and her values and is desperately seeking a solution. In that effort she runs to the wisdom of the East exemplified by Doctor Yang, the acupuncturist. Going through a series of madcap false starts and pseudo-affairs she finally is able to right her course, leave her husband and bring up her children out of harm's way. Damn, I ... Read More
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- Alice in Woodyland
- PARABLE FOR OUR PRESENT FREE MARKET MATERIALIST AGE: WEALTH HOLDS NO POWER, ONLY LOVE IN POVERTY AND RENUNCIATION FOR OTHERS
