What Alice Found

Rank

Middle 40-60% of all time (see others with this rank)

Festival Year

2003 (click here to see all competition films from this year)

Category

Dramatic Competition

Cast

Judith Ivey, Bill Raymond, Emily Grace, Michael Maronna, Justin Parkinson, David Rose

Non-Cast Credits

A. Dean Bell, Richard Connors, Chris Houghton, Bryce

Description

Alice seeks salvation from her dreary, small-town existence by attempting, somewhat naively, to reinvent herself form a cashier at the local grocery store into a marine biologist, Plunging into the "rabbit hole" of the open road, she beings the journey form New Hampshire to Florida in her rusted-out Ford Escort. She soon realizes, however, that life on the road ain't all it's cracked up to be.

Car trouble leaders into the "luxurious" RV of Sandra (Judith Ivey) and Bill (Bill Raymond), an older couple living out their remaining days traveling around the good old U.S.of A. Sandra takes Alice in as if she were her own daughter, buying her things, getting her hair done, and fawning over her, and Alice happily accepts this surrogate family. As the highway miles slowly pass, a subtle web is woven where motivations and intentions are captivatingly ambiguous.

Digital storytelling at its very best, What Alice Found marks a fascinating debut by A. Deab bell, who tells a succinct story with layers that peel away enthrallingly the deeper into the story Alice and the audience go. Exquisite details of wardrobe and production design subtly enhance the phenomenally authentic performances of the cast, notably Emily Grace's unforgettable portrait of Alice.

Reviewer

Trevor Groth (see other films reviewed by the same reviewer)

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