What Alice Found (2003)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

A. Dean Bell

Writer:

A. Dean Bell (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A poor young woman is recruited by a friendly couple traveling in an RV into becoming part of the dark world of truck stop prostitution.

Plot Keywords:

Prostitution | Male Full Frontal Nudity | Breasts | Female Frontal Nudity | Female Rear Nudity

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Judith Ivey	...	Sandra
Bill Raymond	...	Bill
Emily Grace	...	Alice
Jane Lincoln Taylor	...	Sally
Justin Parkinson	...	Sam
Tim Hayes	...	Danny
Lucas Papaelias	...	Alex
Katheryn Winnick	...	Julie
Tom Tumminello	...	Pete
John Knox	...	Trooper
David Rose	...	Rough Trucker
Rita Fredricks	...	Judge
Clint Jordan	...	Lot Trucker
Matthew Vose Campbell	...	Counter Clerk (as Matt Campbell)
Michael C. Maronna	...	Alice's Boyfriend (as Michael C. Maronna)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Danbury, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Factory Films

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The New Hampshire Divers license that Alice has shows her date of birth to be "09/26/1992" and the issue date to be "09/26/2001". This would mean that Alice was only nine years old when the state issued her the license, and only about eleven when the movie was released.

Soundtrack:

On and On

Alice doesn't live here anymore!

"What Alice Found" was a pleasant discovery. As written and directed by A. Dean Bell, this is combination of a road movie with a cautionary tale, as well as a voyage of discovery.

If you haven't seen the film, maybe you should stop reading here.

Alice is a case study of a young woman that wants to break away from the unhappy life she leads in a New England town. Her pretext for leaving is going to join her best friend, who is away studying at a Miami university. Alice is the product of a single mother's home, one that is struggling to make ends meet, in sharp contrast with the life of ease her friend seems to inhabit. In flashbacks we get to see Alice's life before going on the road.

Alice, like her namesake in "Alice in Wonderland", embarks in a trip to the unknown that life hasn't prepared her for. The highways of America are full of predators in search of the weak and innocent. Alice meets with disaster when her car breaks down the road and a friendly Southern couple come to her assistance when a strange man approaches in the darkness with the excuse he wants to help her. Sandra and Bill convince her to come along in their plush R.V. on her way down South.

Nothing has prepared Alice for what this couple turns out to be. After all, in her sheltered life, she hasn't dealt with what Sandra and Bill, her new benefactors do during the overnight stays at the rest stops in the American highways. It comes as a shock to her the realization that the kind Sandra is nothing but a prostitute that plies her trade among the truck driving populace one meets in those places.

Alice, brilliantly played by Emily Grace, is a study in how the young woman awakens to the new reality she can't escape. In fact, Sandra makes it seem so easy that Alice tries her luck at the oldest profession on earth in order to raise some badly needed money.

Judith Ivey gives a tremendous performance as Sandra. Ms. Ivey is perfect as the seemingly normal woman, one wouldn't suspect she is doing the nasty with clients she and Bill find along the route they travel. Ms. Ivey is amazing when she reveals the truth about her life to an accusing Alice. As the husband, Bill Raymond is good in his portrayal as the husband, that in reality is a procurer.

Under the excellent direction of Mr. Dean Bell, the film is not afraid to go to places mainstream films dare not to go. Congratulations to this director who has written a plausible story and has gathered the perfect cast to play it for our benefit.