Review of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) by Caleb C — 09 Mar 2010

Now I'm new on here and just reviewed SHUTTER ISLAND and you may find it odd for me to review ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, but this is the first film I ever remember seeing at a theatre and I saw it at a drive-in with THE TOWERING INFERNO, which I also plan to review.

Now I was 6 years old when this came out and you may think it strange that my parents would take me to see this, but they were both schoolteachers and film lovers and God Bless Them for passing their love of film on to me.

Now I have seen this film many, many times over the years and it never disappoints. Aside from RAGING BULL, this is my favorite Scorcese film. If you've never seen it it's the simple story of a recently widowed woman and her young son who, after the death of her husband, pick up and plan on going back to her old hometown of Monterey so she can maybe continue her old dream of becoming a singer.

Alice (Ellen Burstyn) and son Tommy (Alfred Lutter) set out traveling in their car making several stops along the way. It's actually kind of a road movie because we meet the various people who come into their lives.

First a young Harvey Kietel, small but great performance, who turns out to be married and a wife beater to boot. Then we travel on a little further where Alice gets a job at Mel and Ruby's Diner and here we get to meet Mel (Vic Taybeck) and wisecracking waitress Flo (Diane Ladd).

Are any of these names sounding familiar yet? Here Alice falls for rancher Kris Kristofferson and Tommy gets a little friend with a taste for ripple played by a young Jodie Foster. This is probably one of the best films ever to tell the story of a fiercely independent woman who finds that she isn't quite as independent as she thinks she is.

I love this movie and can watch it over and over. It's funny, it's sad, it's really great filmmaking and storytelling. And there is not a fake moment in this entire film. Burstyn got the Oscar for Best Actress and Ladd should have gotten one for Supporting Actress (Ingrid Bergman won that year in a very lackluster role in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS).

How this brilliant movie turned into the silly sitcom ALICE is anyone's guess, but it did. So if you've never seen this film, you must. And if you have seen it, see it again because its one of the finest films of the 1970s.

Directed by Martin Scorcese. Warner Brothers. Rated PG.