Review of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) by Alex M — 09 Mar 2004

[size=3][i]Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore [/i]was Martin Scorsese's follow-up to his wildly successful and deeply personal [i]Mean Streets[/i], and it represents a significant departure from the subject matter that Scorsese would grow to be associated with. This is not a violent story about lonely, isolated men battling for recognition in society...it is about a woman named Alice (Ellen Burstyn) who is struggling to maintain her identity while still pursuing her dreams. Alice, a recently widowed mother of an eleven year-old boy, sets out on a cross-country trek to find a better life. In Phoenix, Alice meets a sensitive and supportive man named David (Kris Kristofferson), and the two develop a strong bond and a mutual attraction for one another. Scorsese lets this story unfold with an episodic style, and he succeeds in making the characters seem human and compelling at all times. Burstyn gives one of her finest performances and is consistently able to hold our attention despite the rather unimaginative goals of her character. Even Kris Kristofferson is surprisingly subtle as David, a man who at first seems to be in the film only as a potential love interest but is revealed to be an interesting character in his own right. Despite the fact that [i]Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore [/i]is admirable for its strong humanism and keen observation of American life, I have never felt that it is a complete success, if only because Scorsese seems less narratively assured than he is when he is at his best. It is not that Scorsese is incapable of telling a woman's story, nor is he unable to create a tone that balances romance and whimsy. It is just that [i]Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore [/i]lacks the urgency and primal energy of Scorsese's best work. This is a film that is easy to like, but very hard to love...it is at times rather tedious, and the few expressionist shots that Scorsese integrates into the film seem forced and out-of-place. The movie's ending also seems too old-fashioned and tidy...although this is ostensibly a feminist picture, it could be interpreted as implying that a woman is only truly happy with a man. Despite its flaws, [i]Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore [/i]is a somewhat involving drama, and for the strength of its performances, it deserves to be seen. Yet those looking for the Scorsese of [i]Goodfellas[/i], [i]Taxi Driver [/i]and [i]Raging Bull [/i]will certainly not find that he lives in this film.[/size].

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