Alice 2

Alice 2

Alice Ferrand appears to have everything from the outside looking in. She has a cute and playful kid called Jules; a loving partner, François, who showers her with love and affection; a swanky apartment she helped pay for, a job and friends. But this domestic dream turns into the worst possible nightmare as François vanishes into thin air and Alice finds out that he has not only cheated on their relationship by being with high priced escorts for some time but also that he has used her money and stopped paying their home so as to do this. On a whim, Alice decides to learn more about the world of well-paid escorts and inadvertently stumbles upon how to save herself and Jules from almost certain eviction.

Writer/director Josephine Mackerras infuses martial drama with double standards/stigma message throughout “Alice”. It doesn’t take long for Alice to shed her biases against sex workers after meeting Lisa (Chloé Boreham), another worker who teaches her how to take calls safely and what places will keep giving them work. Some of the most beautiful moments in this movie come out of their newly formed friendship.

Unfortunately all of these things don’t solve every single one of Alice’s problems quite yet either because it could still cost custody over her son which brings up both legal/cultural double standards against women having jobs like hers while showing just how easy men are able get away with paying for sex without facing similar consequences.

“Alice” also shows how society can abandon women/single mothers leaving them vulnerable like what happens here with Alice. When she calls up mom there’s no support instead older generation chides younger for not pleasing husband enough or trying harder marriage wise.

This phone conversation is quiet but devastating scene number one out many times where our protagonist finds herself completely alone again later on during scramble late-night call desperately attempting drop off child at friend’s house only get turned down because friend sees person who answers door looks nothing like what they were expecting from description given over phone. It leaves Alice with decision between baby’s safety and potential well being for them both. There aren’t many other resources beyond Lisa for her in new life.

Piponnier is amazing as Alice, putting on a restrained performance where she could easily have been melodramatic. She’s almost whisper-quiet at the beginning, speaking softly to both her son and partner in gentle tones. When her luck changes, it’s subtle; she chips away at her calm exterior piece by piece. There are a few minor breakdowns and crying spells but mostly she’s pulling herself together and bracing for what comes next.

Mackerras also shows some restraint in her direction, frequently keeping the camera close on Piponnier’s face or body language. So much is said in Alice’s slouching shoulders, exasperated sighs and deer in the headlights eyes when she awkwardly meets her first clients none of which gets lost in the heat of the moment. It also speaks to Mackerras’ low-budget resourcefulness that she used her own apartment as the one in the film and cast her son as Alice’s child.

But outside of working and shuttling between home and even nicer hotels, Alice spends some of her rare “in-between” time on the street, goofing off with Jules or catching up with Lisa. Through cinematographer Mickaël Delahaie’s work, Alice lives an everyday Parisian life lived mostly away from tourist hubs but still within the city’s beauty. Even when things are at their most desperate for Alice, they never seem dramatically dark or empty. The city moves on around her lights stay on, sounds carry through oblivious to this woman’s internal heartbreak.

Winner of last year’s South by Southwest Grand Jury Prize “Alice” drives its message a touch too heavy near the end double standard against women who do sex work bad before well-tuned drama does its thing; there is some uncomfortable arm twisting but realistic to prove a point action here but there is also a well-earned sigh of relief when the credits roll.

Piponnier’s performance and Mackerras’ empathetic vision are still very rewarding despite those bumps. The movie doesn’t cast a judgmental light on escorts but instead allows its main character to use it as a way to find herself and her independence, which is a sign that the conversations around sex work in media might be getting better (at least in France??).

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