As much as it is about hitting your breaking point, “Alice Darling” is also about how abuse functions within us and how we keep on while living within its fortress walls. It’s about the isolation we feel in the games abuse forces us to play, and how only when things feel irreparable and terrifying do we admit that the stressors we are subject to in this suffocated reality are unsustainable. The strength we find to push through to the other side comes in many forms, considering how many different experiences there are, but it can be aided by the support of our friends and loved ones as well as anywhere.
“Alice Darling” is ultimately a story of hope and liberation, but it doesn’t shy away from the fact that sometimes you can’t get there on your own. Support systems are important, which is why abusers try to isolate you from them, as Simon does in this film. But when people who love you are on your side, you can overcome more than you’d think. “Alice Darling” successfully lays bare the realities emotional and verbal abuse has on victims, while also highlighting how the smallest shows of support can be exactly what victims need to change their circumstances.
/Film Rating: 7 out of 10