Made right after one of Woody Allen's most celebrated films, "Crimes And Misdemeanors", "Alice" seems to be one of the forgotten entries in his filmography. In both of these films, Allen effortlessly walks a fine line between drama and comedy, and although "Alice" appears to be a smaller, simpler film compared to "Crimes", the viewer gradually realizes that the central dilemma - will Mia Farrow cheat on her husband or not ? - is just a pretext: the film seamlessly blends reality with fantasy (the fantasy touches are creative, though not unprecedented in Allen's cinema: see, for example, "Play It Again, Sam" or "The Purple Rose Of Cairo"), and the present with the past, to paint the portrait of a woman at a crossroads in her life. And who better to play that woman than Mia Farrow, who does "mousiness" to sweet perfection? Many other fine actors appear as well; William Hurt is kind of boring as the husband - but that's the point! Blythe Danner shines as Mia's sister. Only the ending becomes a little too preachy. *** out of 4.
Review of Alice
