Review of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) by Sherry L — 24 Jun 2007

Alice Wyatt is a housewife living with her abusive husband and 12 year old son Tommy. One day her husband dies and Alice and Tommy have to sell everything and get away to find a new place to settle down.

Alice finds it hard to adapt to her new role as the supporter, after beeing the passive housewife, but she always does the best she can.

She has a (very short) singer carreer behind her, so she tries to get a job as a bar singer. Most bars don´t even have a piano but finally she finds a place that does and gets the job.

One evening she meets a slightly younger man, whom she starts a relationship with. But soon she learns that he has a wife, whom he beats day out day in, and a little son who is sick. Desperate to get away from this maniac she leaves the town and stays at Tucson.

At Tucson she gets a job as a waitress, which she finds unbearable at first but soon gets used to. One day there´s a very charming man there, called David...

This was my first Martin Scorsese-movie, I saw. I´ve always liked the easyness with it, and the many colorful characters in it. What´s more it´s a very humanistic movie, which shows a troubled woman struggling her way through. Not in a Greer Garson-pathetic-tear-wheeping way, but in a simple, easy way which you can relate to yourself. Very nice, entertaining, and romantic!