Tonight thanks to modern technology, a newly renewed subscription to Netflix and their instant feature I had the pleasure of watching "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" tonight. Released in 1975 this Martin Scorsese directed film is a classic. This film won Ellen Burstyn an Oscar for obvious reasons because her performance was exceptional from beginning to end. This movie was the basis for the long running TV show Alice.
Alice is an unhappily married mother stuck in New Mexico. Equipped with a smart mouth and a need to please her husband. He's an emotionally absent short tempered man. Don dies in a car accident on the job delivering Coca-Cola. She decides to take her 11 year old son Tommy on the road back to Monetery, CA to return to being a singer. They stop first in Phoenix, AZ where she finds work as a singer in a bar and meets Ben. Ben seems like the perfect guy until she meets Rita his wife who he abuses. After a run in with Ben, Alice and Tommy flee the area and head to Tuscon, AZ. In Tuscon she leaves her life as a singer to be a waitress at Mel's Diner. This is where she meets David, a local farmer who makes her think different about where her life is headed.
This all-star cast had me hooked the whole way through. I can't resist a young Kris Kristofferson and his performance was as good as his looks are. Diane Ladd, Valerie Curtin, and Vic Tayback are some of the best diner employees I have seen on a screen. The mouth on Flo is something to be recconded with, Mel is the cook/owner I would definitely work for if I was around back then, and Vera is the most lovable person in the room. A young Jodie Foster as Audrey is excellent opposite Alfred Lutter's Tommy, who I would have slapped if he were my son and talked to me the way he does. Harvey Keitel's Ben is sweet and scary all rolled up in one. His intensity is unmatched by most modern actors, the only one close to his performance is Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.
I loved this movie. I have never seen the TV show Alice but I now want to check it out and see what that version has to offer. There's no Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson or Diane Ladd but I'm sure that Linda Lavin, Polly Holliday do an wonderful job.
Martin Scorsese's directing had some qualities that I really liked, the long sweeping shots in to a scene, the way he framed the scenes for intensity and the way he used what technology he had to make a film that still resinates visually today.
The music was also an element that I enjoyed. The scene when they first leave New Mexico and are in the car has a musical backing that I would still love to have for a driving scene today. Dolly Parton's original "I Will Always Love You" is the best version in my eyes and it was a nice surprise to hear it here.
I highly recommend this movie to everyone. It's a classic on any standard.
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