Alice, Darling” is a film that takes on the important topic of emotional abuse in relationships.
Starring Anna Kendrick as Alice, the film highlights the damaging effects of this form of abuse on the victim’s mental state.
Directed by Mary Nighy and written by Alanna Francis, the film accurately portrays the insidious nature of emotional abuse without relying on physical violence.
The film “Alice, Darling” starring Anna Kendrick, highlights the damaging effects of emotional abuse in a relationship.
The film depicts the battering of the psyche in a unique and accurate way.
The relationship between Alice (played by Kendrick) and Simon (played by Charlie Carrick) appears normal at first, but as the film progresses, it becomes clear that Simon is emotionally abusive.
The film smartly focuses on the impact of Simon’s behaviour on Alice rather than on the abuse’s cause or extent.
Through Alice’s actions and reactions, the audience sees how Simon’s insecurities and possessiveness have taken away her sense of self and autonomy. “Alice, Darling” is a rare film that accurately portrays the insidious nature of emotional abuse without resorting to physical violence.
The Rolling Stone article from 2014, which falsely reported a brutal gang rape at the University of Virginia, highlights the cultural desire for traumatic events to have physical evidence in order to be taken seriously.
This tendency is still prevalent today in movies and TV shows about violence against women, which often focus on physical abuse and intense drama.
Only a few productions, such as “I May Destroy You” and “The Tale,” tackle psychological abuse without relying on physical violence for validation. This reinforces the idea that abuse has to be extremely visible to be believed.
The film “Alice, Darling” is noteworthy for its depiction of the seriousness of coercive control without relying on physical violence.
Despite Alice’s visible symptoms of stress caused by her relationship with Simon, the film focuses on her invisible constraints, portraying her thoughts and anxiety in a meticulous and unvarnished manner.
This film, along with others like “I Am Nicola,” captures the suffocating experience of sustained panic in a unique way by pinning the distress solely on the victim and emphasizing the toll it takes on them.
The film demonstrates that emotional abuse can be just as devastating as physical violence without the need for dramatic or extreme depictions.
“Psychological and emotional abuse is often questioned as a real form of abuse,” said Nighy to the LA Times.
This is why she removed a scene from the script that showed Alice revealing bruises. Kendrick, who has spoken out about her personal experience with emotional abuse, supported the decision.
She said, “I wanted Alice to be the evidence of the abuse because if you can’t trust Alice, then I can’t trust myself.”
The film, Alice, Darling, depicts the idea that psychological abuse is just as harmful as physical abuse, even without bruises or physical fights.
The story of a missing girl at the lake that Alice is drawn to represents her search for evidence. Despite a few over-the-top moments, the film remains grounded in the reality of emotional abuse.
The film “Alice, Darling” joins a few other productions in tackling psychological abuse without relying on physical violence for validation.
This film depicts the idea that emotional abuse can be just as harmful as physical abuse, even without bruises or physical fights.
By focusing on the impact of Simon’s behaviour on Alice, the film emphasizes the toll that emotional abuse takes on its victims and reinforces the idea that abuse doesn’t have to be visible to be believed.
