Alex of Venice (2014)

A workaholic attorney is forced to reinvent her life after her husband suddenly leaves.

Director:

Chris Messina

Writers:

Jessica Goldberg, Katie Nehra

Stars:

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Messina, Don Johnson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead	...	Alex
Don Johnson	...	Roger
Reg E. Cathey	...	Walt
Skylar Gaertner	...	Dakota
Chris Messina	...	George
Matthew Del Negro	...	James
Timm Sharp	...	Josh
Derek Luke	...	Frank
Tom Yi	...	Judge Sawyer
Zane Smith	...	Rain Eldenberg
Michael Chernus	...	Trofimov
Will McCormack	...	Lee
Tai Cheadle	...	Mel
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Maureen
Beth Grant	...	Teacher

Storyline

Workaholic attorney, Alex [Winstead] is forced to reinvent her life after her husband suddenly leaves. Now faced with the humdrum and sometimes catastrophic events that permeate the fabric of our lives, Alex discovers both a vulnerability and inner strength she had not yet tapped all while trying to hold together her broken family.

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Plot Keywords:

attorney | beach | spa | f rated | monogamy | 

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Taglines:

Her life is just getting started. Again.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Алекс из Венеции

Filming Locations:

Venice Beach, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Electric City Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming a dance scene, Katie Nehra gave Mary Elizabeth Winstead some drinks before shooting, and Winstead ended up throwing up while filming.

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Goofs

When the judge rules on Alex's environmental suit he dismisses the case "without prejudice." His actual ruling should have been "with prejudice" since the judge's decision was based on the merits of the case and would preclude the same case from being filed again.

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Quotes

Alex: How am I gonna do without you?

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Soundtracks

California Sunset
Written by Filip Nikolic and Jeffrey Gerald Fare
Performed by Poolside
Courtesy of Day & Night Recordings
Played when Alex meets Frank in the bar

User Reviews

A character study without character.

The attempt to portray Alex (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as a woman in flux, forced by circumstance to "reinvent herself", was lost on this viewer. Instead, little was done to drag her out of the mire of self absorption. She takes everyone around her for granted, and is clueless about what is going on with the people with whom she shares a household, most importantly her son Dakota (Skylar Gaertner) . It was very difficult if not impossible to find any empathy for Alex especially when her husband George (Chris Messina) manages, at a distance, to know more about what's going on with their child than she does. Alex's sister Anya (Julianna Guill) is invited by patriarch Roger (Don Johnson) during George's absence for reasons never revealed, and thankfully so, as Dakota would be a footnote barely visible to the story line, (let alone his mother), without Anya's playful interactions and wise counsel. Rather than building a powerful thesis on family dynamics the film focuses on superficial distractions like getting laid or barhopping as solutions to the very real angst that accompanies dramatic life change. We don't ever know why Alex's work is so important to her, or why she cannot relate in the most basic way to her son, or how she feels about her husband, or why she thinks it's okay to expect that everyone else is responsible for managing the day-to-day tasks of raising a child and managing a career. Supporting cast do a wonderful job of carrying an otherwise lackluster character study to a predictable end. Unfortunately for Winstead, she is faced with trying to unearth profundity from the shallow grave where Alex's character is buried.