Alice, Darling (2022) User Reviews

Impactful

[edgarasstasaitis · 7/10 · 10 February 2023]

I didn't know how to write all the thoughts and feelings this movie made me feel. I also thought for a long time whether it is really worth writing everything, because the whole review will not be about the movie, but about the theme of this movie. I don't want to talk about this movie from a technical point of view, because I don't think it's the most important thing in this case. Yes, I think the movie is really good, but that's probably because I found so many similarities in it and I realized that I wasn't the only one who suffered from this kind of relationship. In short, the film is about a young woman trapped in an abusive relationship, and I think this is a very important topic to talk about, because an abusive relationship is very traumatic for people and their lives. There are many people in this world who are now in toxic relationships, and there are also many people who have been in this type of relationship before.

A very important point is that the film is very realistic. Of course, each person's case is different, but the whole point is abusive relationships and how being in them affects people's inner world and mental health. People feel trapped, like they have no other choice, they think that their partner is treating them badly out of love. For such people, it seems that this is how love should be, after all, just like in the movie, Simon said to Alice: "It's you and me. It's just us." Being in such a relationship is like losing yourself, at least in my opinion, the motif of the missing girl in the film shows exactly that. At that time you are absolutely addicted, if you go somewhere you feel guilty for not being with a partner, if you are having fun you feel guilty again for not being with a partner. When the partners of an abusive relationship are already completely attached to their victim, it becomes more and more difficult to escape from such a relationship.

But that's not the case, there is a way out of all these horrible things, whoever is reading this right now and is in a relationship like this, there is a way out. There will always be people around you in difficult times who really love and want to help. In the case of the film, it was Alice's friends who helped her escape from an abusive relationship. Although at first it seems that no one understands you, that everyone else is your enemy, but the truth is completely different.

Alice says: "I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes it feels like he can read my mind" and "There's nowhere left that I can actually be alone." And this is absolutely true, because people in such relationships lose themselves, forget what they really are, they can't even think logically anymore. Also, hair pulling is a very real experience caused by a very high level of stress. In fact, the movie looked so familiar that it was hard to watch.

I really highly recommend this movie because it does an excellent job of revealing the main idea and raising a very important issue. Some viewers may find it difficult to watch, but the film is definitely worth watching.

The Anguish of Alice...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 3 February 2023]

You're with a man who's very subtly coercive, in a relationship that's vile and corrosive, playing tricks with how you think, makes you wither, narrow, shrink, this is no way to spend your days, no life to live. Time with friends gives you a chance to float, reflect, of how your mind has crashed and burned, become a wreck, with their help they catch your fall, assist the break with a large maul, evict the poison from your heart, with great effect.

I thought Anna Kendrick was amazing as the mentally anguished and tortured Alice, who's fairy-tale romance had turned out to be anything but, as she finds out what friendship and love really can be, when those close truly care.

Could've been so much more

[thesnowgirl147 · 6/10 · 22 January 2023]

The acting was phenomenal! Anxiety and trauma oozed off Anna Kendrick and the supporting casts' was no different in their roles; the antagonist gets maybe 5 minutes of screen time, but it's all he needed.

While the acting was great and I enjoyed an abuse story that's not trauma porn or exploitave, the story left a lot to be desired. Before watching it I saw it only had a 90 minute run time, and thought "seems short for subject matter." Sure enough, the plot felt rushed and underdeveloped. The story could've been explored on a much deeper level, and the characters make choices that don't make sense. Then the entire subplot with the missing girl I kept trying to figure out its connection only to never get an answer.

Exceptionally dull

[taskr36 · 3/10 · 6 February 2023]

Avoid this movie and save yourself an hour and a half of complete boredom. The movie is basically just watching, waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever does. You'll watch, wait for something significant about her backstory, and never get it. Then you'll wait for that big climax, but it doesn't happen. And then the credits roll. They put more effort into making the trailer interesting than they did with the movie itself.

Part of me wonders if there was something bigger planned, and they just ran out of time and money, or if this is becoming a new trend, where movies have pointless endings, as if being pointless is something new and edgy.

In a relationship with a Narcissist

[Blue-Grotto · 6/10 · 29 September 2022]

Feeding on attention whether it is positive or negative, the need to control others, manipulation, blame, and the absence of empathy; such are the signs of narcissism. Alice's boyfriend Simon possesses such traits in large amounts. In a rare moment away from him and in the company of her friends at a cottage in Ontario, Alice reflects on her situation. Noticing her stress, doubt, depression, and shame, Alice's friends attempt to open her eyes to the emotional abuse. However, Simon is not yet ready to let go of his possession.

While Alice is going through this emotional turmoil there is a missing teenage girl in the town. Alice observes that, "if this girl is hurt, it is probably by someone she knows." Alice begins to wonder if there is more to life than Simon.

Since I was once married to a narcissist, I recognized Alice's plight and coping mechanisms. It was interesting to see how the character dealt with the abuse. Anna Kendrick (Alice) is in a different role from her normal comedy routines. She does a good job of portraying a character attempting to reclaim herself from someone who feeds on her soul. I wish the film went deeper in many ways, but it does an excellent job at revealing the toll that narcissists take on our lives.

World premiere in Toronto.

Has something to offer but it's too slow and simple

[zack_gideon · 5/10 · 3 February 2023]

I like the concept here of the vast difference between actual love and narcissistic control. Narcissistic personality disorder is when someone needs to control and manipulate other people to feel like they're human. They're basically lacking a soul and feed of others in a nutshell.

This film tries to portray this subtle abuse by showing mostly the abused victim and not the actual abuse so most of the film is the lead female being stuck in a relationship and it just doesn't do much else. She's with her friends and not in the actual abuse for most the screen time.

The ending is pretty good, but the slow first hour or so really drags. I would have like to have seen more of what created her abuse symptoms and also how she was before meeting her Narc boyfriend.

Overall the acting is good, but the plot is too slow for most audiences and didn't really progress. It also is dealing with very subtle things in a very subtle way as well so it misses the mark on being an effective drama or thriller and is more just a character study. 5/10.

Powerful, subtle, poignant

[rickhuckstep · 7/10 · 14 February 2023]

Loved this movie and a great debut for director Mary Nighy. The film creates a real sense of what it must be like for the abused party when the abuser is a controlling, manipulator. There were Great performances too from The three main characters who demonstrate the spirit of friendship as the became increasingly aware of what was really going on. It just goes to show that a psychological drama does not need to be extreme or violent and that the damage and trauma of control and manipulation can be subtle and unseen.

It's a mystery to me why the early reviews on IMDB have been so negative about this movie.

Goes nowhere

[bakaeunji · 3/10 · 4 February 2023]

Nothing happens.. you keep expecting there to be some kind of escalation but it never comes. Like the missing girl, what was the significance of that other than to pose as a threat of what she could become?

I was expecting a murder of some kind, it definitely sets up for that. But alas, no drama.

Anna is a great actress but not even she could save this slow movie. I'd recommend you skip this one.

One note, utterly depressing with no real point? I understand it's sensitive material, but the storyline definitely needed a lot of work. Give us some excitement! For those who said the ending is great... did we watch the same movie?

Alice, Darling examines abuse without exploitation.

[msbreviews · 7/10 · 20 January 2023]

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free thoughts, please follow my blog to read my full review :)

"Alice, Darling brilliantly tackles the sensitive topic of abusive relationships. Alanna Francis' script stands out with a profound, respectful look into an emotionally disturbed Anna Kendrick - career-best performance - but also into the genuine best of female friendship.

A non-exploitative look into how psychological violence can be as traumatic as any other kind of physical abuse, as well as how insanely difficult it is to leave such a toxic relationship.

Mary Nighy cannot escape the subgenre's formulaic boundaries, but she should be proud of such an enlightening, impactful feature directorial debut."

Rating: B+

An excrutiating watch

[Matt-9000 · 1/10 · 4 February 2023]

This movie drives home the pain of abuse very effectively, primarily by torturing the watcher with its unending drudgery. Viewer beware: This is not any sort of exciting thriller, there are no shocks, surprises, twists or turns to be had. The tone is miserable from the start to the finish, and the storytelling itself is virtually absent. Almost nothing happens, and everything that does is painfully slow and ultimately inconsequential. It's just another boring straight-to-video quality story about the evil man being bad, with nothing new or innovative. Kendrick's acting is decent enough, but it's not as if she's expected to do anything other than look sadly at her phone for 90 minutes. Avoid.

Shocked at low reviews

[mhtannous · 10/10 · 30 June 2023]

Higher score to even out the unnecessarily bad ones.

I imagine the low scores come from people who could not connect with the subject matter.

This was such as superbly done, realistic portrayal of coercive control abuse.

And captures the inner effects of any kind of abuse in relationships.

I loved the obvious, but subtle concurrent storyline of the missing girl.

It's such a deeply contemplative film. The imagery is stunning. The way it takes a single moment and fleshes it all the way out is true artistry.

The simplicity of the storyline is what makes this such a good story.

It's vertical, deep. Not sweeping and horizontal.

Strong performances but didn't push the envelope as far as I thought it would

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 20 January 2023]

Alice, Darling (2022) is a movie my wife and I saw in theaters last night. The storyline follows a group of friends who decide to go on a girl trip to celebrate one of their birthdays. One of the friends, Alice, has a psychological and verbally abusive boyfriend she needs to lie to, to go on the trip. She spends the entire trip scares to death he will find out about the trip. As her friends discover what's bothering her they will do their best to help her overcome her fears.

This movie is directed by Mary Nighy (Traces) in her major motion picture directorial debut and stars Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Kaniehtiio Horn (Possessor), Charlie Carrick (Deep Water) and Wunmi Mosaku (His House).

The storyline for this had a lot of potential and the cast is outstanding and delivers strong performances. The chemistry between the cast was tremendous and felt authentic. You could feel the anxiety oozing through the screen and the friends genuine desperation to help their friend. However, there were decisions throughout the picture by both the friends and Alice that didn't feel realistic and was frustrating. The subplot of Angela missing was under utilized, and while a metaphor, could have had a better conclusion that was more impactful and less subtle. There's a sex scene in here that's the strangest thing I've ever seen. The ending was solid but I thought they'd show more of the husbands abusive ways in an explosive climax.

Overall, this is an okay movie with some redeeming elements but didn't push the envelope as far as I thought it would. I would score this a 5.5-6/10 and recommend seeing it once.

Annoyingly dull and boring.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 5/10 · 8 February 2023]

Even at a mere 89 mins of runtime, the sloth pacing made this annoyingly dull and boring film feel like 3+ hours long. Listed as a drama-thriller, it's remarkably un-thrilling, and the drama wasn't dramatic; the missing girl sub-plot had more drama to it.

Co-writers Alanna Francis and Mark Van de Ven left all the meat and potatoes off the plate and served up just some tasteless kale posing as a fancy salad. Even the subplot with the missing girl was a pointless red herring - why even write that in? To make matters worse, the writers didn't convince me that Kendrick's character didn't already have pre-existing social anxiety issues, before trying to sell me that the boyfriend is the problem, especially how she was to her so-called best friends. The entire narrative just felt undercooked and incomplete, lacking any real impactful intentions the writers had.

Then you have director Mary Nighy taking already boring scenes, and making them awkward and unbelievable. The three gal's friendship was unconvincing, as was their handling of each others insecurities towards themselves and each other, so to make the audience believe they have the ability to help (or even want) the victim, was simply unrealistic and unconvincing.

The only believable performance was Kendrick, as Nighy failed to properly direct the rest of her cast effectively, especially the other two girls. I respect the message that was trying to get conveyed, but all attempts to do so were too weak and contrived, and the end result fell short of any accomplished messaging.

I can't recommend this, because I really would've rather watch paint dry for what felt like over three hours. It's a generous 5/10 only for Kendrick's performance, and the decent score and cinematography.

Too dull to recommend

[Kherzon · 4/10 · 26 March 2023]

"Alice, Darling" tells a story of a woman stuck in a manipulative and controlling relationship. However, what makes this take special is how subtle and understated this relationship is compared to the typical wife beater you might see in many other media. And even though I think it fails ultimately as a good film, I believe it still has value for educational reasons and may even be eye-opening to some people going through similar relationships, though; I can't judge that with full confidence because I am by no means an expert. But I can try to give you an Idea on the quality of the film as a whole.

The plot is fairly simple at first glance. Alice, Tess and Sophie take a trip to a cottage for Tess's Birthday. However, Alice lies to her Partner and says that she's going on a business trip for reasons not yet clear.

The movie kind of just drags on from there on out. They get to the cottage and they argue a lot.

The intrigue comes from Alice's reactions to any sort of message or reference to her boyfriend. These are just brief scenes, but Anna Kendrick plays them to perfection, making every panic attack painfully realistic and depressing to watch.

The cast overall is very strong in my opinion, but like I mentioned before, Alice and her friends don't really do all that much besides argue. It definitely serves its purpose in painting her boyfriend (Simon) to be a manipulative partner, but as a viewer, seeing these characters go at each other's throats is just mind-numbingly annoying.

Even after some of the tension loosens between the friends, the mood doesn't really lift all that much because it is all shot in the most distant and cold manner. Essentially, leaving all the positive emotion the characters are supposedly feeling lost to the audience. Maybe it's the lack of vibrant colors or the overindulgent cinematography, but it just didn't resonate with me the way it was meant to.

The strongest parts are definitely in direct confrontation with the abusive manner of Alice's relationship. For instance, in one scene, Alice is explaining how her boyfriend would shame her for eating chips in the most calm and oblivious manner while the smiles melt from her friends faces.

It is followed by another strong scene where her boyfriend comes to the cottage after finding out she lied about the business trip. I think this is one of the scenes that perfectly demonstrate the kind of relationship they are really in. He knows she is out having fun with her friends, but instead of leaving her be, he uses excuses to rain on their parade. Turning the lodge from a place where Alice was starting to feel comfortable, into another place where she is scared to do anything wrong.

One of the reasons he gives for his unannounced visit is the missing girl who was found dead. This is where the movie left me clueless to be completely honest. I can not for the life of me figure out what the significance of the missing girl is. It becomes a semi obsession of Alice throughout the film, but the connection to her is not explained, nor why she spends large parts of the movie looking for her. She does find a potential clue to the case and Simon shuts her down on it, but I don't believe they spent that much time on that subplot just for that one scene. I would stamp it out as my ignorance or unwillingness to dig for the deeper meaning, but truthfully, it isn't exactly an intriguing mystery that I have any incentive to care about.

The climax of the movie is pretty fitting, I think. It doesn't really wrap up neatly, but it doesn't need to. As Simon decides to take Alice back home, Sophie smashes in the rearview window of his car, resulting in a stare down between him and the girls. Ultimately, he decides to leave. But how does it continue when she has to leave the cottage and get back to life as usual? It is left rather open-ended in that regard, but it makes sense. There isn't one solution that will work. It isn't always as simple as just breaking up and goodbye forever.

And that's the movie, basically. It's hard to have a good time with this film. It really does do its best to show how a relationship like this looks realistically. But watching it is just not enjoyable. It feels too much like a chore. It's not horrible, but I can't find many reasons to recommend it to anybody. I do believe the movie is too slow and irritating for anyone who can't directly relate to the subject.

Not truly on point

[Tactrix · 6/10 · 3 February 2023]

So this is a story about a woman that's in a controlling and emotionally manipulative relationship with a man. At least that's what it appears to be. And I say that because this story is so wildly unclear, and at best you're guessing. It's like they took a story, then cut out all the stuff that would explain what actually happened. And then stuffed it full of everything that happened between the stuff that happened. And rely on you to understand the plot without telling you any of the actual story.

This is not a great way to make a movie. This is a great way to debut how actors can describe things with just their range of emotions, and they are amazing in that. The acting really is top notch. But the story is so bare bones, that I simply can't give it a great rating.

6/10 great acting, very lackluster story.

Mind numbing agony for the audience

[Silicone54 · 1/10 · 3 February 2023]

Alice is stuck in a relationship with her boyfriend Simon who has low professional esteem and he apparently takes out his frustrations on her. He's never shown to be violent so we must assume the mental and guilt manipulation.

Her two besties invite her to weekend up at the cabin without giving away their plans to Simon. While at the cabin Alice's shackles are ripped off. Her transformation is almost complete until Simon tracks them down and tries to drag Alice back home.

There isn't much to this movie except more of the toxic masculinity hyperbole we see in every piece of "entertainment". While the story is simple to follow the elephant in the room is the missing girl. Why in god's name did they place so much importance on this girl when there is ZERO relevance or impact to the plot?? I kept thinking they will find her in some weird elaborate twist but sadly no its just a dead end that filled up the minutes.

The acting was not bad but without a good story line this was another movie you would catch on the Lifetime Channel.

Clearly the other reviewers know nothing about narcissistic abuse

[pflugs-48071 · 7/10 · 8 January 2024]

I am shocked by the 5.5 rating of this film. Totally shocked.

Other reviewers commenting that Alice's character was "boring" clearly know nothing about what being in a narcissistically abusive relationship does to a person. You become a shell. The narcissist steals all of your personality with their abuse.

I thought this was a great portrayal of a situation that is more common than most people think. Anna Kendrick was excellent. The actors who played her friends did a fantastic job as well, realizing over the vacation exactly what kind of relationship she is in as she slowly starts to admit things to them.

I do wish the film had been longer, as I felt Alice's turnaround was a little too quick. It takes an average of seven attempts for a person to leave an abusive relationship. But I loved the climax scene. I was so proud of all three of the girls and the way they handled it. And the boyfriend reacted exactly as I knew he would, throwing the suitcase out of the car.

I didn't really understand the sub-plot of the missing girl, but I'm guessing it's to show the contrast of violence. Her boyfriend never physically abused her, but abuse is abuse.

To the reviewers on here who said we never see him doing anything "that bad"...please. Telling your partner how to eat is not okay. There were many clues throughout the film that she has an eating disorder. Many of the things he said to her in the flashback scenes were not okay. The fact that she would get up early to do her hair, put on eyeliner, and scrub her body down...those are all things brought on by his mental abuse. Her freaking out when she loses the earring he bought her and saying "I can't do anything else wrong". Plus her rushing to put on eyeliner when he got there and his comments about how she "looks different". Him blaming his work being affected by her lying to him and saying she was hanging out with her friends at his expense. The constant texting and checking in. Showing up to her girls trip? Hello! That's nuts!

If I could review this more times to get the score up, I would. I'm so glad I didn't pay attention to the bad reviews.

What was the point?

[reynahaddad · 1/10 · 16 March 2023]

Anna Kendrick plays Alice,the most irritatingly neurotic,dullest and weakest woman ever born. To keep it short and to the point,nothing happens. Seriously,nothing! One of the dullest movies I've ever had the displeasure of watching. You keep waiting for something to happen but it never does. Alice is just a mess over this emotionally abusive relationship that we never really get to see. I mean the guy is a jerk but Alice's behavior just seems over the top for what the relationship is. It's labeled as a thriller and it absolutely is not! I love Anna so I am super disappointed that this movie sucked so bad. Tess and Sophie are likeable at least.

quiet suffering

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 10 February 2023]

Alice (Anna Kendrick) is stressed. Her boyfriend Simon (Charlie Carrick) is controlling. Her friends Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) invite her to spend a week at a cabin in the country. She becomes obsessed with a missing woman.

This is a classy indie version of a Lifetime movie. Whereas Lifetime would have the boyfriend scream and turn the climax into a thriller chase film, this one is showing the emotional control and quiet suffering. It's not the most dynamic, but it works. I do want a moment of standard melodrama and have Sophie force a hug on Alice. This movie needs a heavier hand in a few key moments. Anna Kendrick is pretty good here. The actors are all pretty good.

Everybody acting UNNECESSARILY weird for ninety minutes. VERY

[Jo-Cino · 3/10 · 4 February 2023]

First off, it took FOR. EV. ER to get to the point of the movie... secondly, are we really sure this movie just isn't about some girl who is completely out of her mind who created her own angst?? Unless i missed something, they did a really poor job of making the boyfriend seem verbally or even emotionally abusive... matter of fact, most of the the interactions they show of the couple actually make the guy out to be fairly nice, mild mannered, sometimes affectionate and fairly thoughtful.

But instead of 'show and tell' the movie tries to outline how abusive he has been to the girlfriend in flashbacks and through her recanting stories to her friends, but even then, he doesn't seem to have really done anything bad enough to merit this woman's anxiety.

In one scene she tries to explain how bad her relationship is because, as she says, "sometimes i think he can read my mind and if he can do that then there is nowhere left that i can be alone" meanwhile, her friends are looking at her while speaking these words like she just told them he beat her with a bat.

There's another scene where she's telling her friends how much the boyfriend doesn't like potato chips as she imitates the boyfriend... "there's enough saturated fats to kill a horse. You'll regret those when you get on the scale in the morning".

Again, the friends are sitting beside her making faces to each other like, "oh my god - this MONSTER said that to you??!!" "" "i wish you would have told us it was this bad" they tell her (seriously) and finally, they layered a backdrop of a missing girl on this little getaway for some sort of subplot that I can only think they were trying to make the viewer fear the boyfriend (?) all the while they never really give you a reason to fear the boyfriend that much at all.

This is a hard pass for me. Everybody is unnecessarily weirded out for no reason.

I needed to see this movie 13 years ago

[isaagosto · 10/10 · 30 November 2023]

I understand that this movie hasn't been the cup of tea for many viewers, due to its lack of depth. However, I had a relationship just like this. You weren't able to see the depth of my ex's abuse, it was superficial. The same thing happened with me. You couldn't notice that I was in an abusive relationship because everything was superficial. It took me years to notice all the red flags that he showed from the beginning.

Actors are great. I loved seeing Anna Kendrick something different other than what she's done before. I loved, loved Wunmi Mosaku.

At first it was hard to understand the friendship between Alice and Tess. They didn't seem really close, like Alice and Sophie. But they said so much without words that you could feel what they were feeling.

The story is exactly what I needed.

It's not supposed to be entertaining

[rockbunny-73250 · 7/10 · 6 August 2023]

The reviews on here are so problematic. People are moaning this isn't entertaining, it has no thrills and excitement. This is what abuse feels like, numb and dull in the stomach.

People want to watch physical abuse, want the shocks and horror of dealing with abuse. But it's not always like that. Sometimes it's odd, weird and strange.

This feel is real. The panic of doing something wrong, that your friends notice you acting different. And realising yourself that there is a problem.

Alice is taken away from her life, with friends. She is out of the situation and then it gets unsettling when she isn't just concentrating on being a good girl to her partner.

Abuse is horrific. Sorry if this didn't 'excite' you or you found it boring. But I think it was very valid in how disconnected abuse can make you feel.

Thanks to the beginning director and writers, the story unfortunately remains a bit on the simple side.

[movieman6-413-929510 · 5/10 · 30 January 2023]

Alice, Darling is a new drama thriller directed by Mary Nighy. This is the first movie she has directed and has only directed some episodes of different TV series before this.

In the film, Alice (Anna Kendrick) goes away with her friends Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) for Tess's birthday. She lies to her partner Simon (Charlie Carrick) about this. She has an uneasy relationship with Simon, in which Simon always dominantly makes the decisions for them.

This lie turns Alice's time with her friends from a fun girls' trip into a precarious one. For example, Alice begins to wonder if she should go public with her problems to her friends. This can only completely ruin the fun.

Besides the fact that this is only the first film that Mary Nighy has directed, this is also only the second film for which writers Alanna Francis and Mark Van de Ven have written the story. Because of the starting sides of both of them, they keep this film a bit on the simple side. Unfortunately, the message about someone who is in an uncomfortable relationship with a partner who makes all the choices is not very strong.

With this film they also take their time to make it clear to you as a viewer what exactly this film is about. For example, in the beginning you first have to try to guess what kind of film you are going to see. The storytelling of the film is unfortunately a bit on the rushed side, so the film sometimes jumps quickly from scene to scene, to show some different moments. As a result, the story can sometimes remain a bit difficult to follow and the film is sometimes filled with unnecessary scenes, which have little or no value for the final ending.

It also takes a while before you clearly learn about the different relationships between all the characters. As a result, the acting in the beginning of the film unfortunately does not come across very well at first. Fortunately, this changes later in the film and most actors know how to act better and more clearly. You just keep missing a clearer history of the characters, to really understand them. Due to the lack of background information and some lack of other details, the film sometimes comes across as too rushed or simple. As a viewer, this makes you wonder why the characters can't just talk about each other's problems as friends.

Anna Kendrick looks good in the lead role, but this is not her best acting. She has done better acting in her other films. Kaniehtiio is also more of a TV actress and knows how to do nice acting, but does not do anything special with her role. Wunmi Mosaku plays more like the backbone of the girlfriend group, trying to balance everything between everyone. Charlie Carrick unfortunately comes forward a bit too exaggerated in his role, so that the film loses some of its credibility.

NOT dramatic. NOR is it the least bit of thrilling. What is left?

[imseeg · 5/10 · 9 February 2023]

I love Anna Kendrick, the actress. She does a decent job (as always) performing her role, but...

The bad: this movie is severely lacking in spark and punch. There simply isnt any TRUE to life drama. And it sure as heck aint thrilling whatsoever.

More bad: the other leading actors are quite mediocre, well below average actually and that is a real bummer, because in such a personal tale about relationship, the other actors should matter, but now they unfortunately DON"T, because their acting capabilities are way below par. No chemistry. No fireworks...sigh.

Not any good then? The stories dramatic arch is disjointed. It doesnt flow well. There is "some" drama, but so little that I would never recommend this movie to anyone who is into dramas. Kind of a sleeping pill...

Surprisingly Moving.

[Joker415 · 7/10 · 3 February 2023]

I've always been a fan of Anna Kendrick and was not sure what to expect going into this movie.

I was a bit afraid it would be violent but the movie was something deeper surrounding emotional abuse from a partner.

It brought back memories of when I was younger and a victim and perpetrator of emotional abuse in multiple relationships and how it was portrayed and displayed so subtle that it was hard to realize it happening.

This movie opened my eyes to the awareness that needs to be brought to romantic relationships regarding emotional abuse and control.

I thought it was a touching and surprisingly eye opening movie on abusive relationships that don't involve physical violence.