Capsule reviews for Jan. 20
Wunmi Mosaku, Anna Kendrick, and Kaniehtiio Horn star in ALICE, DARLING. (Photo: Lionsgate)
After Love
A compelling examination of immigration, motherhood, and mental health, this British drama is propelled by a deeply felt performance by Joanna Scanlan (Notes on a Scandal). She plays Mary, who is still grieving the death of her Pakistani husband when she tries to start over as a housekeeper. But as she works for a French businesswoman (Nathalie Richard) and her teenage son (Talid Ariss), Mary must confront a secret from her past. The screenplay by rookie director Aleem Khan explores its weighty themes with understated potency, skillfully weaving a major third-act twist into the narrative in a way that avoids manipulation while enhancing the film’s humanity. (Not rated, 89 minutes).
Alice, Darling
A fiercely committed portrayal by Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) drives this character-driven drama about a woman trapped in a psychologically abusive relationship. Kendrick plays Alice, whose artist boyfriend (Charlie Carrick) is suffocating her to the extent that she’s become submissive and self-loathing. She takes out her frustrations during a country retreat with her best friends (Wunmi Mosaku and Kaniehtiio Horn), who wind up staging a makeshift intervention on her behalf. As it navigates tricky thematic territory, the confident debut of British director Mary Nighy incisively explores gender politics, sisterhood, and sexual dynamics through an empowering lens. Despite some heavy-handed tendencies, it’s cumulatively powerful. (Rated R, 90 minutes).
Out of Exile
From the assembly-line plotting to the derivative dialogue, this low-budget crime thriller never musters much suspense as it struggles to heighten the stakes among its shady characters. It follows a brawny ex-con (Adam Hampton) who can’t escape his past, becoming involved in a botched armored truck heist that makes him a target for an FBI agent (Ryan Merriman) while he seeks a fresh start with his family. Within a familiar cat-and-mouse structure, the earnest screenplay by rookie director Kyle Kauwika Harris doesn’t leave much room for subtlety or surprise, relying on familiar genre tropes that overshadow any sincere intentions, while paving a familiar road to redemption. (Rated R, 107 minutes).