Alice, Darling  ★★★½ 

IT’S a big year for the Nighy family.

Bill is up for Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance in Living, while daughter Mary has made a strong directorial debut with the drama Alice, Darling.

The often under-rated Anna Kendrick is excellent as Alice who is trapped in a psychologically abusive relationship.

Her partner Simon (Charlie Carrick) presents to others as a charismatic and confident artist whose career is on an upward trajectory. But, behind closed doors, he is wracked by self-doubt and inner demons.

He demands that Alice is at his every beck and call but accuses her of not providing enough support when things don’t go exactly as he plans. His dependency and control means Alice’s life is constantly lived on the edge. She is even forced to lie about having a work trip in order to gain a few days away with her best friends.

But their gathering is still negatively impacted by Simon’s presence with Alice answering his constant phone communications and reassurance needs and maintaining emotional distance from friends Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku).

The three actresses deliver a strong ensemble and the changing dynamics in their relationships are authentic and engagingly dramatic right up to the tension-filled moments of the final act when Alice decides to take back control of her life and dignity.

Watched on Apple