Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
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A widow and her son travel across the American Southwest seeking a new life after a tragic loss.
The story
After her husband is killed in a traffic accident in New Mexico, Alice Hyatt decides to leave her old life behind. She takes her young son, Tommy, and sets off for California, hoping to revive her abandoned singing career. Their journey takes them through the Southwest, where they face financial hardships and the challenges of life on the road. While stopping in Arizona, Alice finds work as a lounge singer and encounters various people who impact their journey. Amidst the search for a better future, Alice must navigate the complexities of motherhood, the allure of past dreams, and the possibility of new connections in a landscape of transition.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the death of her abusive husband in New Mexico, Alice Hyatt and her son Tommy embark on a journey toward California to pursue Alice's former dreams as a singer. They stop in Phoenix, where Alice works as a lounge singer and enters a tumultuous relationship with a man named Ben, which ends violently when his wife discovers them. They flee to Tucson, where Alice finds work at a diner. There, she meets and bonds with fellow servers Flo and Vera, and meets a local rancher named David. While Alice initially remains focused on reaching California, she begins to develop a bond with David, who forms a paternal connection with Tommy. After a conflict regarding David's discipline of Tommy, the two reconcile. Ultimately, Alice chooses to stay in Tucson with David rather than continuing her journey to California.
- First release year
- 1974
- Runtime (minutes)
- 112
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Martin Scorsese
- Writers
- Robert Getchell · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ellen Burstyn · Alice; Kris Kristofferson · Billy "Green" Bush; Diane Ladd · Flo; Valerie Curtin · Vera; Vic Tayback · Mel; Alfred Lutter · Tommy; Jodie Foster; Harvey Keitel
- Genres
- romantic comedy; drama
- Themes
- motherhood; resilience; identity
- Tone and mood
- gritty; heartfelt
- Premise and plot tags
- road movie; women's picture
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial success, praised for its performances and Scorsese's direction, though some critics found it inconsistent or overly long.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 92% · scale: percentage · review count: 83; Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 11
- Awards and nominations
- Best Actress · Academy Awards · win; Best Supporting Actress · Academy Awards · nomination; Best Original Screenplay · Academy Awards · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was adapted into a television series titled Alice.; The opening scene was filmed in a single day on a set costing $85,000.; The original cut of the film was over three hours long.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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