AnnaKendrick – Credits Rolling

From first time director Mary Nighy comes Alice, Darling. Alice (Anna Kendrick) is not okay and she hasn’t been for some time. Stuck in a psychologically abusive relationship with her boyfriend Simon (Charlie Carrick), she finds herself at a breaking point. When she goes away for vacation with her two friends Tess (Kaniehetiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku), Alice is forced to realize that something needs to change.

There isn’t much to say about this little indie film. The performances were very well done, particularly in the case of Kendrick. Worlds apart from her usual type of roles, the way in which she portrayed the broken Alice was ballsy. I appreciated the places she allowed herself to go and I thought it was a true enough depiction of someone dealing with similar situations.

With a runtime of an hour and a half, the story is very much what you see is what you get. At times I wish certain scenes had been fleshed out more. This would have prevented some key parts to be less rushed. Maybe some more background as to how Alice and Simon met or the first time he started gaslighting her would have added extra insight. I was pleased with the way it all came together in the end though, even if it was tied up neatly with a bow.

Filmed in the beautiful countryside of Ontario, Alice, Darling is an important watch due to its sensitive subject matter. Had it been a little longer, I think it would have packed even more of a punch, but I still enjoyed it.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

I never watch movies about space and I didn’t really know anything about Stowaway except for the fact that Anna Kendrick is in it. I think she is such a breath of fresh air and I will literally devour everything that she stars in. I didn’t know what I was going to think about the film going into it, but I am trying to break out of my comfort zone. I am happy to report that I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to which is always a plus! Unfortunately there were still some things that could have been improved upon.

Zoe (Anna Kendrick), David (Daniel Dae Kim) and Marina (Toni Collette) have just embarked on a mission to Mars. Everything seems to be going smoothly until they discover an unplanned passenger named Michael (Shamier Anderson) has accidentally come along. Suddenly their voyage is jeopardized and they need to figure out how they are going to survive with an extra person onboard.

The part of the film that bothered me most was that this was a very slow burn. It took ages for something to happen and scenes were drawn out to each individual detail. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that this is how it needed to be. It perfectly encapsulated the tone and atmosphere of being in space and the severity of what was happening. However, if you are looking something more fast paced, then this will not be for you. It took me awhile to adjust and get used to this pace and I’m still not sure I liked it.

Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette are household names and I liked seeing them together in this. I am unfamiliar with Shamier Anderson, but I did think he was a great addition in the cast. While they gave great performances, I have to say that we didn’t learn very much about some of their characters. It seemed as though they stayed one dimensional and I would have appreciated more information there. I think it would have helped me root for some of them more.

Overall, Stowaway was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting something drab, but there were certainly moments that gripped me and kept me on the edge of my seat. I do feel like some things could have been fleshed out more and because of that, it did leave me wanting more.

Rating: ♥♥♥