Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Mark H

  
  Robert Getchell's script was nominated for an Oscar and it's ingenious in the way it fashions everyday difficulties into an intimately engaging saga. Coming at the end of 1974, the film touches on themes popularized by Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique published a… More
  Robert Getchell's script was nominated for an Oscar and it's ingenious in the way it fashions everyday difficulties into an intimately engaging saga. Coming at the end of 1974, the film touches on themes popularized by Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique published a decade before but still very much a part of the ongoing women's movement at the time. At first Martin Scorsese might seem like an odd choice to direct this ode to female independence. Scorsese wrings real drama from the simplicity of this woman's drive to succeed against increasingly insurmountable odds. But this is not some weepy women's picture. Scorsese brings grittiness to a narrative that could have slipped into treacle. His direction is self assured. What could have been heavy-handed is rendered as a genuine portrait of a person in crisis. There is an utter commonality to the proceedings. It speaks to both men and women. There isn't a false note in the entire 112 minutes. What truly makes the drama powerful is the magnitude of Ellen Burstyn's Academy Award winning performance. Alice Hyatt is a testament to the human spirit. It's clear why Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore remains one of the enduring classics of 70s cinema. It just gets better with age.

• Alexander D

  
  Before I saw ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, I had seen four films directed by Martin Scorsese: SHINE A LIGHT, his 2008 documentary of a Rolling Stones concert; THE DEPARTED, one of his many crime flicks; THE AVIATOR, his biographical picture about multi-millionaire Howard… More
  Before I saw ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, I had seen four films directed by Martin Scorsese: SHINE A LIGHT, his 2008 documentary of a Rolling Stones concert; THE DEPARTED, one of his many crime flicks; THE AVIATOR, his biographical picture about multi-millionaire Howard Hughes; and HUGO, his charming family fantasy movie from just last year. Only one of them I had given less than a solid A (HUGO), so I was excited to see ALICE, the film many consider his best. It's not his usual, dark, ultra-violent type of movie (and I'd guess it's his only PG rated film until HUGO), but it's a classic with no hesitation, and the best I've seen of him thus far. ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE is just about as unusual as its own title. It's a fantastic film, and it's (in a way) a family drama, but there's something extra added on to make it more likeable. We've had so many movies about family problems, too many for me to name. They're all either pass or fail, with nothing in the middle. A "fail" would be Jim Carrey's LIAR LIAR. A "pass" would be Robert Redford's ORDINARY PEOPLE. For me, this passes just as much as ORDINARY PEOPLE, if not a tad more. http://themoviefreakblog.WordPress.com/2012/03/31/review-alice-doesnt-live-here-anymore

• AJ V

  
  A fantastic drama about a single mother and her son trying to make it in the world alone. It's very realistic and heartfelt.

• Jennifer D

  
  All right. I tried to get through this. I really did. I was just so bored and so uninterested in the characters I could not for the life of me suffer through it. Amazing that Scorsese has some amazing winners. And then he has stuff like this. I blame Netflix for continually… More
  All right. I tried to get through this. I really did. I was just so bored and so uninterested in the characters I could not for the life of me suffer through it. Amazing that Scorsese has some amazing winners. And then he has stuff like this. I blame Netflix for continually recommending me to this.

• Aditya G

  
  Martin Scorsese's 1974 film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" has one stand-out aspect to it. The characters in this film are very real..authentic flesh-and-blood characters, picked directly from your everyday life, people you can instantly relate to. Unfortunately… More
  Martin Scorsese's 1974 film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" has one stand-out aspect to it. The characters in this film are very real..authentic flesh-and-blood characters, picked directly from your everyday life, people you can instantly relate to. Unfortunately this very quality of the film ultimately lets it down as there is not much meat to pack in this project dealing with mundane events. So we have this 35 year old housewife, Alice who is trying to cope with a family life involving her almost-12 bratty son Tommy and her grumpy husband Donald. Donald is a trucker who seems to be clearly unhappy with his marriage. He dies in an unfortunate accident and Alice is left widowed with a son and not much of a clue as to what she would do next. Following a garage sale she puts up, she leaves with her son in order to go to Monterey to start a new living, possibly by getting a job somewhere as a singer, a career which she longed to pursue and did pursue once long ago. And so starts a road trip across Southwest America, where Alice puts up in cheap motels and tries to find a job as a singer so she can get enough money in order to finally reach her destination that is Monterey. The entire film then chronicles how she tries to make ends meet (that doesn't involve much apart from one job as a singer and next as a waitress) and the people she meets and befriends. This includes a fellow waitress, Flo (Diane Ladd) and the two men she gets involved with, Ben (Harvey Keitel) and David (Kris Kristofferson). The first half of the film, about her adventures in Phoenix, still involves some pretty good drama in Alice's attempts to find a job as a singer in a lounge bar, and her tryst with Ben. There are a couple or three marvelously executed scenes, a particularly memorable one involving a bar owner Mr Jacobs (Murray Moston) who Alice visits after long and tiring efforts of looking for a job and breaks down. Jacobs keeps repeating the line "I don't even have a piano in here" as an excuse for not offering her a job while Alice keeps bawling all the time. There are such fine moments including some others which highlight Scorsese's talent for turning seemingly simple scenes into delightfully entertaining ones. Amidst all this are other events involving candid conversations and cola+water fights between Alice and Tommy! Frankly, even though these scenes are meant to add the "warmth" or a seemingly amusing touch to the proceedings, they came across as boring to the point of being annoying. And come the second half and their entry in Tucson, followed by Alice's job as a waitress in Mel's Diner, and her romance with a divorced cowboy-like rancher, David (Kris Kristofferson), things start to get really tiresome. Sure, there are a couple of chuckle-inducing scenes and the entry of one of the best characters in the film, Flo (Diane Ladd) and some of Tommy's misadventures with the tomboyish Audrey (Jodie Foster). But then that really doesn't do much to hold our interest. The best part of the film are the performances, of course. Ellen Burstyn, in a class-A performance stands tall! The Academy Award was well-deserved. Diane Ladd's sharp-mouthed Flo is a close second. She gets some of the best lines in the film. Too bad she didn't get the Academy Award she was nominated for (Best Supporting Actress). Alfred Lutter as Alice's son acts really well, but he starts getting on the nerves in some scenes, but that again, is not the fault of his acting. It is that of his character! So it doesn't come as a surprise that at one point David's character hits him for being a brat! I would do the same, really! Harvey Keitel does well in his brief role. At the end of the day, it almost seemed like Scorsese shot about five-six clever scenes and decided to fill the rest of the film with boring, filler material! It isn't Scorsese's fault, really. It is, in fact, that of the script which doesn't really go anywhere and makes the film an underwhelming experience.

• Dan S

  
  An excellent, at times very depressing look at a single mother (Ellen Burstyn) after losing her husband (Billy Green Bush) to a car accident, who moves away with her son in order to get a fresh start. This is one of Scorsese's most overlooked near-masterpieces, really an honest,… More
  An excellent, at times very depressing look at a single mother (Ellen Burstyn) after losing her husband (Billy Green Bush) to a car accident, who moves away with her son in order to get a fresh start. This is one of Scorsese's most overlooked near-masterpieces, really an honest, never artificial look at a woman trying to find happiness. Although it takes a little while to get into it at first, once the Harvey Keitel character comes in, it's pretty gripping the rest of the way through. Burstyn won an Oscar for her turn here, and she definitely deserves it. It's really no question at this point that she is one of the best veteran actresses working in Hollywood today.

• Anthony L

  
  Great Scorsese film, with a superb cast. The relationship between mother and son is fantastic to watch and at times hilarious. I really liked the TV spin off show that came from this film too, it was on channel 4 at 6.00pm during the 80's and my sister and I never missed an… More
  Great Scorsese film, with a superb cast. The relationship between mother and son is fantastic to watch and at times hilarious. I really liked the TV spin off show that came from this film too, it was on channel 4 at 6.00pm during the 80's and my sister and I never missed an episode!

• Derek D

  
  This is not your typical Scorcese film, leaving New York City out of the picture altogether in favor of the rural southwest. Burstyn won a much-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of Alice, a lady who packs up her son and heads for a new life with her barekly-tolerable son. She meets and… More
  This is not your typical Scorcese film, leaving New York City out of the picture altogether in favor of the rural southwest. Burstyn won a much-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of Alice, a lady who packs up her son and heads for a new life with her barekly-tolerable son. She meets and leaves Scorcese favorite Keitel before settling down at a small motel and working at Mel's Diner, which is just next door. Kris Kristoferson shows up as the "perfect man" in her life...or is he? The film really keeps up a good, not-too-slow pace and keeps you guessing about it until the end. Not Scorcese's best, but still excellent anyway.

• Chris G

  
  In 1974 Martin Scorsese followed a road less traveled and made the drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, which is about a thritysomething housewife (Ellen Burstyn) who loses her husband in a traffic accident and decides to go back to singing in Monterey California taking her 11… More
  In 1974 Martin Scorsese followed a road less traveled and made the drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, which is about a thritysomething housewife (Ellen Burstyn) who loses her husband in a traffic accident and decides to go back to singing in Monterey California taking her 11 year old son Tommy (Alfred Lutter) along. As they get into Tuscon she finds that singing engagements are hard to come by and starts working in Mel and Ruby's Diner as a waitress where she meets David (Kris Kristofferson) with whom a romance begins. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore opens with what could be called an odd homage to the Wizard of Oz. Instead of a tornado carrying the little girl from her home its a marriage to an indifferent man and parenthood. Ellen Burstyn, fresh off her Exorcist gig plays Alice as the local rube who doesn't know life outside the nuclear family. It's a jungle out there. The only real sensible relationship she has between leaving her home and Mel's Diner is the sage advice of a veteran waitress named Flo (Diane Ladd) who gives her homespun advice that actually makes sense especially in her relationship with David. Alice as a whole is a depressing story about a woman whose life is turned upside down and as she tries to catch her dreams she keeps getting stomped on. Yet Scorsese throws humor in throughout the movie as a way to counteract the drabness that has been thrust upon them with most of the good lines going to Tommy. People who complain about Tommy being too annoying have obviously not been around any 11 year old boys lately. This is one of those Scorsese curves that he throws at us from time to time. Alice was wedged between Mean Streets and Taxi Driver almost as a way to drive into the ditch and try something different.

• Ken S

  
  The world just shits all over Ellen Burstyn in this surprisingly stylish and touching film by Martin Scorsese

• Michael G

  
  I like but I don't love.

• Mike T

  
  This film is undoubtedly well-made, and Burstyn turns in an emotionally moving performance, but it does get a little dull at times. Overall worth a look for Scorsese buffs.

• Andre T

  
  Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the American Southwest in search of a better life, along with Alfred Lutter as her son and Kris Kristofferson as a man they meet along the way. This is… More
  Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the American Southwest in search of a better life, along with Alfred Lutter as her son and Kris Kristofferson as a man they meet along the way. This is Martin Scorsese's fourth film.Common people in a life scene.Good.

• Anastasia B

  
  One of Scorsese's earliest works, "Alice" is not one of the director's strongest stories either dramatically or artistically, but it does introduce us to a great performance by Ellen Burstyn and her interesting little son (Alfred Lutter, who never pursued an acting… More
  One of Scorsese's earliest works, "Alice" is not one of the director's strongest stories either dramatically or artistically, but it does introduce us to a great performance by Ellen Burstyn and her interesting little son (Alfred Lutter, who never pursued an acting carreer and still lives in California... selling software to banks...!). Tucked between "Mean Streets" and the "Taxi Driver", "Alice" is a worthy addition to Scorsese's filmography but not one of his masterpieces.

• Laurence C

  
  Delightfully humane-- if you showed me this film without telling me that the king of tense macho New Yorker stories directed it, I would never be able to guess who did. It's true : Scorsese is surprisingly comfortable at handling a story about an independent woman travelling… More
  Delightfully humane-- if you showed me this film without telling me that the king of tense macho New Yorker stories directed it, I would never be able to guess who did. It's true : Scorsese is surprisingly comfortable at handling a story about an independent woman travelling across the Southwest to forge an identity for herself, beyond the expectations and demands of men. Back in 1974, the man had only directed three films, so perhaps it wasn't quite as surprising to the public as it it to me by now-- but after decades of gritty urban dramas about self-destructive men stuck in suffocating situations, we have come to expect something a least a bit formated about The Martin Scorsese Picture... and I do not mean that in a pejorative sense, not in any way. Either way, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore remains a shocking opposite of his usual work, and if it isn't a perfect picture on its own, one can say it is very much the kind of film whose flaws cannot be dismissed because they are part of an intensely compelling whole. For starters, it is dominated by a phenomenal lead performance by Burstyn, whose vitality, conviction and vulnerability earned her a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar. She is onscreen for practically every scene, and she occupies the frame with an intensity that can't quite be described with words-- but inhabiting a woman whose dreams have failed, and then who finds in a tragic situation the opportunity to rekindle those aspirations (even if it means to give inhuman efforts in the proceedings) and reclaim her own freedom is miraculously free of any kind of miserabilism. It is very much one of my favorite performances of all time-- from Burstyn's body language and delivery, you can absolutely feel a connection with the dreamy avant-garde opening scene establishing how much her childhood fantasies have vanished over the last 27 years. Built out of short scenes that cut abruptly for the most part and devoid of a common dramatic crescendo, the film has an interesting spin on the 'road trip' structure. Without spoiling any major plot point, Alice slowly comes to understand that she is done with having a man tell her what she oughts to be as a person, and she comes to accept that there is no knight in shiny armor (or Robert Redford) that is bound to save her. Her travels bring her to understand that there will always be somewhere (or someone) else to crave, and that a companion will always, always be necessary. The journey will last until you die-- and if she is able to make the world a better place for those that surround her (if they are willing to do the same), then perhaps this harrowing struggle has a purpose, after all. All of this is not a revolutionary statement, especially from a so-called feminist P.O.V, but it's made clear and it is delivered with a great deal of strangely impressionist honesty. If the dialogues between Alice and her son Tommy sometimes feel a bit forced, and if the screenplay gives a feeling of floating uncertainty in its middle third, there are more than enough outstanding elements to counterbalance those minor flaws. Scorses brings his all, and with flourishes that range from the sublime aforementionned introduction to the stuffy, exciting atmosphere of the Diner at which Alice ends up working, the film still remains by today a lovely and captivating story made even more awe-inspired by its central powerhouse performance.

• matt s

  
  The last movie you'd expect Scorsese to do: a romantic, heartbreaker. And he does it with just as much as class as his other greats. The bulk of this film is based on the sheer fact that Alice Hyatt only runs, never faces her battles. It's a theme many can connect with.… More
  The last movie you'd expect Scorsese to do: a romantic, heartbreaker. And he does it with just as much as class as his other greats. The bulk of this film is based on the sheer fact that Alice Hyatt only runs, never faces her battles. It's a theme many can connect with. Hell, the whole romantic drama genre is inundated with characters such as Burstyn's. But rarely does a film these days tackle romance with such tact and grace. Films these days make an intelligent viewer's eyebrows wrinkle and yell, "what the hell is going on?" The beauty of this film is that Scorsese and his knockout cast let humanity and reality shine.

• Tom S

  
  Oh poor Vera. Her misery is our mirth.

• Christopher B

  
  A nice film from Scorsese with excellent characters and drama. And we have this to thank for TV's Alice!

Read all 18 featured audience ratings