Alice, Darling
Lionsgate | Release Date: December 30, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ABC NewsPeter TraversJan 20, 2023
A riveting Anna Kendrick brings her own experience with a psychologically abusive relationship to this tale of a young woman who learns to stand her non-violent ground against a male predator through female friendship. The result is quietly devastating. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 19, 2023
In its often distressing, sometimes nauseating depiction of a woman caught in weaponized co-dependence, Alice, Darling is rarely an easy watch. Yet it is always captivating, and that all comes back to Kendrick in what may well be her most powerful performance to date. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 18, 2023
With a dialogue-driven, authentic screenplay by Alanna Francis, an effectively poignant score by Owen Pallett and powerful work by Kendrick and Kaniehtiio Horn and Wunmi Mosaku as Alice’s best friends, this is the kind of intimate drama that sticks with you long after the viewing experience. Read full review
83
ColliderEmily BernardJan 23, 2023
Alice, Darling is a bold and powerful step forward in Anna Kendrick’s career that allows her to really show off the range we knew she had, but maybe hasn’t had a chance to fully explore yet. Read full review
80
EmpireHelen O'HaraJan 19, 2023
An understated but compelling look at coercive control, toxic relationships and healing friendships, with perhaps a career-best performance from Kendrick. Read full review
80
IGNTara Bennett Jan 22, 2023
Alice, Darling is a measured, affecting observation of a young woman finally coming to grips with how much an emotionally toxic romantic relationship has viscerally changed her. Read full review
50
IndieWireRyan LattanzioSep 16, 2022
Kendrick makes the case for why she belongs in more dramatic roles that allow her to shed her normally peppy usually cheery onscreen persona. We know how good she is, and we’d only love to see more. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdonaDec 29, 2022
Ultimately, it’s about the bonds of sisterhood and how those who know you best and love you most can help you heal, or at least start you on that path. Its vagueness serves almost as a Rorschach test. How effective it is as a drama may depend on your perspective. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 18, 2023
Fortunately for us, Kendrick delivers. She immerses us in Alice’s efforts to keep her secrets and avoid sorting anything out even if she suspects the status quo is everything her friends seem to suggest it is. Read full review
58
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerJan 19, 2023
It’s a movie about a toxic relationship that digs into the harrowing psychological details of mental and verbal abuse without exploiting it. It’s also a single-minded PSA picture — indie portraiture with hardly any identifying details filled in. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 18, 2023
Written without much concern for logic and coherence, the movie wavers between being a drama and a thriller and, as is too often the case in situations like these, doesn’t work as either. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloJan 20, 2023
Kendrick’s performance is one of the strongest aspects of “Alice, Darling.” Under Nighy’s direction, they create an emotional portrait of someone on the verge of being lost to a warped distortion of love but who realizes they were surrounded by the real thing the entire time. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 18, 2023
We still have Kendrick’s performance. We still have the compelling situation. We still have the unusual subject matter. But it’s enmeshed with unreal nonsense. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 10, 2023
Aided by Owen Pallett’s occasionally jittery score, Alice, Darling can sometimes possess the faint air of a thriller, albeit one in which the central menace is offscreen, far removed from Alice and her friends. But Kendrick, who has said she’s experienced psychological abuse in a past relationship, wrings dramas from Alice’s internal trauma. Read full review
70
Screen RantRachel LaBonteJan 19, 2023
Alice, Darling is a respectful and piercing character study that also serves as an excellent showcase for Kendrick's talents. Read full review
75
Slant MagazinePat BrownJan 1, 2023
The emotional crux of Alice Darling is less the manner in which it lays out a roadmap for an exit from an abusive relationship and more its attentiveness to the profound ramifications of such relationships for the women in them. Read full review
70
SlashfilmLex BriscusoJan 19, 2023
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. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubLuke Y. ThompsonJan 19, 2023
Nighy feels like she’s finding her way in a new format. She’s got the hard part down, pulling off effective emotional beats even when the story seems to be operating on screenwriting 101 paradigms. All that remains is to find a script that’s up to the rest of it. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJake CoyleJan 18, 2023
Alice, Darling is a little thinly sketched and lacks a strong sense of directorial perspective. But, in shirking genre contrivance, Nighy gets the most essential thing right, authentically capturing a not-uncommon real-life experience with rare nuance. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakSep 16, 2022
The role of Alice is very much internal and, as such, very reliant upon putting her thoughts onscreen. That we can also see those thoughts in our own minds simply through Kendrick’s thousand-yard stares, moments of lashing out, and visibly draining anxiety is a testament to her commitment to the character and the script’s nuanced complexity to allow her to say so much without saying anything. Read full review
65
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzFeb 6, 2023
Alice, Darling does so much right that it is acutely painful when it goes wrong. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 19, 2023
It’s a very strong performance from Kendrick, who disturbingly conveys the tiny and not so tiny symptoms of emotional abuse. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 16, 2022
It’s a chilling little film, avoiding maximalism at every turn, a bold debut from Nighy (whose only real slip-up is a score that can feel dull and uninspired) and a difficult reminder of a difficult experience. The chill will linger for a while. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 16, 2022
One of the most absorbing parts of Alice, Darling is watching Alice, Sophie and Tess interact with each other throughout the weekend — to witness the frustrating moments of misunderstanding and the triumphant ones of clarity. Kendrick, Mosaku and Horn sustain a natural rapport, which makes investing in their friendship easy. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJan 23, 2023
With Alice, Darling, director Mary Nighy (daughter of actor Bill) delicately exposes how internalised and invisible the experience of narcissistic abuse can be. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisJan 19, 2023
The larger problem is that there’s not enough here — in story terms or in the filmmaking — to sustain even the movie’s 90 minutes. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJan 22, 2023
What’s impressive about this psychological thriller, the debut feature film from director Mary Nighy, is how tuned in it is to the dynamics of female friendship. Read full review
75
The PlaylistMarya E. GatesSep 16, 2022
Anchored by Kendrick’s best performance in years and Francis’ incisive script, Alice, Darling is a visceral, deeply felt clarion call, not just for more awareness of the signs of emotional, intimate partner violence but also as a reminder to those who have experienced this abuse to allow themselves some grace. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesDominic BaezJan 23, 2023
Alice, Darling is a bit of a slow burn, despite what its trailers would have you believe. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJan 19, 2023
It’s a modest but polished psychological drama that keeps threatening to mutate into an old-fashioned toxic relationship thriller – and the tension between what it actually is and where it might be going makes it an enjoyably nerve-jangling watch. Read full review
72
TheWrapLena WilsonDec 29, 2022
What saves this wallflower of a drama is its focus on the women’s friendship, which Mosaku and Horn sell with aplomb. Read full review
60
Time OutAnna SmithJan 18, 2023
It’s a believable portrayal of the impact of gaslighting and brainwashing: Alice’s conviction that she’s at fault will resonate with many audiences. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis HarveyJan 2, 2023
This is a quietly powerful drama about psychological manipulation and damage. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithJan 19, 2023
The intended overarching message is that vile men can exercise a kind of mind control over their innocent girlfriends. Perhaps. But Alice, Darling delivers an equally striking unintended message: that two people in a failing relationship have a tendency to bring out the worst in each other. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJan 17, 2023
Alice, Darling deserves praise for emotional verisimilitude and shading. It’s just a shame that, in some of its packaging, it oversells a story worth hearing. Read full review
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