Alicia ya no vive aquí

I actually prefer this film to Mean Streets or Raging Bull. Ellen Burstyn was always a personal favorite and she is absolutely brilliant as Alice. This film bears no resemblance to the sitcom that would spin off from it. This is a textured, touching and humorous look at a woman's journey BACK towards independence. It is far superior and a much more mature film than, say, Thelma & Louise. If you're looking for female "empowerment" movies. Alice is reality. The fine cast also includes, Harvey Keitel and Diane Ladd. Both in fantastic performances. This is just a great movie and very overlooked. If you're getting into Scorsese, don't miss this one!

Ellen Burstyn could play a tree stump and make it interesting. She's one of the unsung heroes of post-studio cinema. At a time when meaty women's roles were becoming more and more scarce, Burstyn was fighting for and winning one great part after another. She's probably never been better than she is here, though she showed tremendous range in "Same Time, Next Year" and gave one of the most heartbreakingly harrowing performances I've ever seen as recently as 2000, in "Requiem for a Dream." Women's picture and Martin Scorsese are not two phrases that would seem to be tailor made for each other, but a terrific women's picture is exactly what Scorsese gives us with "Alice..." Though I hate using the term women's picture, as if men can't enjoy stories about women, or as if women's pictures are isolated from the rest of "real" movies. Actually and ironically, maybe it was Scorsese's penchant for the tough-guy milieu that made him so right for this film, because "Alice" doesn't suffer from the burn-your-bra self-righteousness of other women's lib movies of its era, like "Un Unmarried Woman." These other films ultimately feel phony, because they were created for the most part by men, who, however noble their intentions, simply didn't have an understanding for the material. But Scorsese gets the character of Alice, and Burstyn knows exactly what she's doing. So the conflict isn't between Alice and the male world, but between the Alice who doesn't have the confidence to be anything other than a doormat and the Alice who wants to make a life for herself on her own terms.

There are some hilarious scenes between Alice and her son in this film, most particularly the scenes of them driving to California (like when Alice calls him Hellen Keller because he keeps asking "what?" to everything she says). Also, a subplot about the evolving friendship between Alice and Flo (played by Diane Ladd) becomes one of the film's highlights, not in the least because both actresses handle it expertly.

This is a winner, and must be seen by anyone who thinks Scorses is out of his element anywhere but the mean streets of NYC.

Grade: A

People forget that "ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE" is a Scorsese film. Look at it again and you'll see it is one hundred percent Scorsese. Totally focused on a female character. I read somewhere that Ellen Burstyn asked Scorsese "How well do you know women" and Scorsese replayed "Not well at all, but I'm willing to learn" The portrait of Alice adds something to film female characters that had never been present on the screen before. All those Joan Crawford fighting working class women seem like a joke compared to Ellen Burstyn's Alice. Jodie Foster steps into the screen with a funny, touching BANG. If you've never seen this film, hurry up! If you've seen it, see it again.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is the film that brought director Martin Scorsese into the commercial limelight; and even though he's had many bigger successes since, this simple and easily accessible story of a woman and her son is well worked and interesting; and personally, I prefer it to a number of his more famous gangster films. The plot is very simple, thus making the film easy to follow and therefore light viewing; and it could also be called a 'chick flick'. However, Scorsese directs with his usual verve and manages to implement a number of memorable characters along the way; some of which are played by the stars of future Scorsese films. The film starts when we are introduced to a young girl named Alice, who has aspirations of being a singer. Several years later, and after the death of her husband, she and her son set off across the country in order for her to pursue her dream career. After her first job and choice of boyfriend go awry, she travels on and ends up meeting a man named David.

This film provides an acting credit for Ellen Burstyn who, just as she would go on to do in the likes of The Exorcist, delivers a well worked and believable performance. Kris Kristofferson is her opposite number, although he doesn't get to flex his acting muscles much - while Taxi Driver co-stars Jodie Fosters and Harvey Keitel deliver memorable portrayals in small roles. The film benefits from a very well written script, which manages to give credence to all of its lead characters, which elevate the film above similar material in its class. The locations are well used, and the director does well in implementing a gritty country style; as well as the central theme of ordinary people trying to make something out of themselves. The main problem with the film is that sometimes it can be a little too light-hearted, and some of the heavier plot ideas aren't allowed to shine through as they should. Overall, this film may be disliked by fans of Scorsese films such as Goodfellas and Casino, and it definitely is a chick flick; but personally, I have no qualms with naming it as one of the better films on Scorsese's list of film credits.

For those of you who thought Martin Scorsese only made gangster movies, here's a real surprise: not only did he make a housewife melodrama somewhere in the seventies, but he made the best one around for miles. Ellen Burstyn is fantastic as middle-aging wife and mother Alice, whose life is torn apart when her neglectful husband is killed in a car accident and she is left with nothing to take care of her fast growing son (Alfred Lutter III). The two find themselves on a road trip across the country to Tucson where she plans to start all over again, but not before various stops along the way keep them from achieving their goal too soon. Diane Ladd is brilliant as Flo, the nasty-mouthed waitress at the diner where Alice gets a job to stay afloat (Polly Holliday made a name for herself playing the role on the hit television show "Alice" that was based on this film). Look for little Laura Dern eating an ice cream cone at the diner counter, and a twelve year-old Jodie Foster as a precocious little thief who hilariously refers to her prostitute mother as "Ramada Rose". Excellent stuff.