All Americans grow up learning that the slave trade was ended after the end of the Civil War with the passage of the slave amendments, inspired by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Yet, as time has gone on, it has been found that some black southerners were kept in peonage for more than 100 years after the end of slavery. As the Civil Rights Movement was developing, some black people were unaware that the first struggle for human rights in the country had already been won. A new film entitled Alice takes a fictional look at what it would be like for a slave to suddenly be thrust from the Antebellum South into 1970s America.
The film introduces us to Alice (Keke Palmer), the titular character who spends is enslaved on a rural Georgia plantation, dreaming of freedom. After a violent clash with plantation owner Paul (Jonny Lee Miller), Alice flees through the neighboring woods and stumbles onto the unfamiliar sight of a highway, rescued on the roadside by a disillusioned Black activist named Frank (Common). After crashing at Frank’s house and reading through history books, Alice discovers that the year is actually 1973 and that lies have kept her enslaved. Alice soon comes to terms with who she will be in this new reality and what she can do to free the others on Paul’s plantation.
Alice is a film about time being lost and its premise interplays perfectly with its theme. While Alice arrives in post-Civil Rights America later in her life and after being thoroughly socialized in an antebellum environment, her determination upon discovering the truth about the world makes the larger point that it’s never too late to make a change whether it be in yourself or in the world around you. While this point comes across clearly in the film, its story doesn’t quite go deeply enough with a premise that is ripe for exploration and social commentary. Alice at points feels like a film attempting to serve two masters; a bit of social exploration and bit of an action-packed nod to 70s Blaxplotation films. Both work in terms of keeping audiences interested, but it blunts the impact of the film in the end.
Despite this issue, the film’s actors perform well enough and the characters are empathetic enough that the audience is still engaged despite it not reaching its full potential. After spending its first two acts as a character study of a young woman experiencing a jarring reality shift and discovery of who she will be moving forward, the explosive third act shifts to a revenge fantasy that is satisfactory in the resolution it offers for characters the audience has come to root for, if not a whiplash quick tonal switch. Alice’s plan to free her family and friends on the isolated plantation is chock full of nods to 70s blaxploitation heroines and is Tarantino-esqe in its violence and vengeance.
Ultimately, what makes this film work in spite of its flaws is the performance from one Keke Palmer. Her charisma and acting ability alone powers the film past its uneven writing, providing Alice with a determination and empathy that invests the viewer in her journey toward freedom and self actualization. She is one part action star, one part character study making for a fully engaging watch. Palmer’s quality performance and an explosive third act are just enough to make Alice not a complete waste that falls flat.
Image: Roadside Attractions
