Malice in Wonderland (2009)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Simon Fellows

Writer:

Jayson Rothwell (writer)

Release Date:

2010 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A modern take on the classic fairytale, Alice in Wonderland, set in the North East of England.

Cast

Maggie Grace	...	Alice
Danny Dyer	...	Whitey
Nathaniel Parker	...	Harry Hunt
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Hattie
Matt King	...	Gonzo
Anthony Higgins	...	Rex
Paul Kaye	...	Caterpillar
Garrick Hagon	...	Mr. Dodgson
Katia Winter	...	Swede
Gary Beadle	...	Felix Chester
Alan Mckenna	...	Griffin
Steve Furst	...	Mo
Fiona O'Shaughnessy	...	Hooker
David Frost	...	One Ball Barry
David Blakeley	...	Hitman
Elizabeth Goram-Smith	...	Nightclub Dancer / Party Girl
Lin Blakley	...	Mrs. Jones
Steve Haze	...	Midge
Dave Lynn	...	Jack / Jacqui
Earl Ling	...	Two Guns Tony
Tony Cook	...	Jimmy Three Chins
Darran Williams	...	Gold Raver in bar / Freaky Finger Man
Jimmy Ocean	...	Four Button Freddy

Also Known As:

Malice in Sunderland (USA) (working title)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, UK

Company:

Mark Williams Films

Trivia:

Maggie Grace replaced Mischa Barton.

A low budget, high talent gem

Viewed at the Marche du Film, Festival de Cannes 2009

With not a lot of money but a bundle of ideas, director Simon Fellows and writer Jayson Rothwell, have come up with a massively entertaining twist on the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland. Only this time it's a young woman with amnesia, a taxi-driver, assorted gangsters, druggies and weirdos who feature.

At the same time, Malice in Wonderland stays true to the novel on which its based, proving that old ideas can still be the best; same story, new version, as it were.

Maggie Grace makes an interesting Alice, here a young American on the run from (and also towards) something, if only she knew what. Some of the dialogue between her and Whitey, the taxi driver, is excellent. Scratch that! A lot of the dialogue is excellent, with some great lines to cut out and keep for future use.

It's clear that a low budget has been made to go a long way, but view it as a lot of bang for low bucks and not as cloth being cut too thinly. What surprises about this film is just how assured it is.

Quibbles? Nothing of note, really. It would, theoretically, be nice to have seen what would have resulted had the production budget been higher, but then the film would perhaps have lost some, if not all, of its edge.

As a calling card, Malice in Wonderland shows some real talent at work. The basic question, is it worth paying to see? Absolutely!