I liked this film for a number of reasons, but first let me look at some of its flaws. The story is intriguing, evocative, and at the same time immensely confusing - at one point I threw my hands in the air in utter disbelief of what I was seeing. The director I think became too secure in what he was shooting so as to not fulfill his duty to narrative structure - making reasonable sense of everything. But the film has a lot going for it. Is it a great film? I would say not, but it is a good film. It requires multiple viewings to see everything(though there will be no more sense made out of some things). The story details the life of an adolescent girl named Alice. Alice is having troubles at school, is a borderline schizo, and likes being mean to people. Her sister dies at a Communion service in a brutal fashion. We see a girl in a bright yellow rain coat with a translucent mask on kill Brooke Shields(no need to go on about that minor casting information) and then place the body in a chest and put a lit candle inside. Soon smoke engulfs the Communion service and from there on we have a story of people believing Alice is guilty of the crime and more crimes of course. The resolution is way out there, and I for one had no idea at all where the story was going. I still didn't know where it was going at the film's end. But what transforms this picture beyond this muddled script is the director's artistic vision and his ability to create some very creepy atmosphere. Alfred Soles uses his camera very effectively adding all kinds of religious symbolism, in particular Roman Catholic Church imagery. I was really very impressed with many of the scenes. The death scenes were done in striking fashion. The mask and rain coat, usually something that would not be scary, were very eerie. Some of the things going on in the film transcended just being weird to being downright bizarre. The Alphonso de Noble character - a man who must way well-over 400 pounds caring for a room of cats and listening to music from the forties. He played this unsavory man in a most unsettling way. Catch the greasy spot on his trousers. Yuck! There were other equally bizarre characters, shots, and plot threads. The young girl playing Alice, Paula E. Shepperd, did a very good job and the rest of the cast, though not great, did very workmanlike jobs. The story will keep many from liking the film, but Soles had just enough "spin" if you will to catch my interest and maintain it. I really am surprised he didn't direct a lot more after this as his film is really well-shot.
Review of Alice, Sweet Alice
