Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

For Christmas the bride gave me a set of Martin Scorsese movies, like most sets the majority of films are ones you've never heard of. After watching Mean Streets and Goodfellas a couple of times, decided to broach the other two.
This was a pleasant surprise. Ellen Burstyn was under contract to do a film with Warner Brothers, they gave her creative license to select script and director. Burstyn wanted to create a movie that was based on a female perspective, rejecting typical scripts offered by the film company chose a story written by Robert Getchell who at that time was unheard of. Getchell later wrote screenplays for movies such as The Client, Point of No Return and Mommie Dearest.

"NO WIRE HANGERS!"

Burstyn having selected a script began her search for a director, asked Francis Copola for a recommendation. Copola suggested see watch a movie called Mean Streets.  This she did and while that movie does not relate to women, Burstyn saw special skill.

 

The film is about a recently widowed woman, with a 12 year old boy.  The boy is a typical 12 year old, weird, weird, weird.  Left without an income, she goes in search of a singing career.  On her trek to California she stops in Phoenix, in need of cash shell takes a job as a waitress.  There she meets a local rancher who in the end offers to follow her to California, if that's what she wants. 
The main cast was:

• Ellen Burstyn as Alice Hyatt.
• Kris Kristofferson in his first leading role as David.
• Alfred Lutter III as Alice's son Tommy.  Lutter was also in The Bad News Bears.
• Diane Ladd as Flo, big hair and foul mouthed, the most fun character in the movie.
• Harvey Keitel as Ben the lying, philandering abusive first boyfriend.  Harvey is a carry over from Mean Street and frightening in his scene of abuse.
• Jodie Foster as Audrey the delinquent daughter of another single woman.

I give this movie a rating of 40 of 50.  A very nice surprise.

• Character Development, 8 of 10, a woman build a life on her terms, at them time of release an unconventional development.
• Screenplay, 8 of 10.
• Acting, 9 of 10, Burstyn got an Academy Award.
• Photography, 7 of 10. Scorsese concentrated on the plot but in some scenes like the opening and ranch his skill is obvious.
• Plot, 8 of 10. They thought of the plot well enough to make it a television series.

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