As far as I know I’ve never met anyone dealing with multiple personality disorder. I mention this because every time I see a movie involving the subject the authenticity of the performance is immediately called into question. Whether the character changes their voice or their mannerisms, or if it’s the last act reveal I’m rarely convinced of such storylines. However, when it works, it really works.
Some of these types of films have managed to stick with me. I won’t mention them by name for fear of spoiling their stories, but a convincing performance alleviates any concerns as it does in most instances. Frankie and Alice comes close to finding itself included on this list, but not quite.
Set in 1970s Los Angeles, Frankie and Alice centers on Frankie Murdoch (Halle Berry), a liquored-up stripper with a dark and buried past just trying to make ends meet. She’s lied to her mother (a welcomed Phylicia Rashad) about her job and doesn’t get along with her sister (Chandra Wilson), but it isn’t until her alter-ego, Alice, shows up that we get the full brunt of just who Frankie is.
You see, Alice is one of Frankie’s other personalities. She’s also a racist, Southern white girl buried inside Frankie. Following a series of “episodes” that find Frankie in jail, she begins working with Dr. Oz (Stellan Skarsgard), an apt name for a psychiatrist whose methods may not exactly be normal, but as a former LSD researcher he and Frankie are a perfect fit. His compassion is something she needs and her needs are enough to improve his mood.
This, of course, all sounds like your typical Oscar bait, and trust me it is. Director Geoffrey Sax (White Noise) doesn’t shy from the stereotypical trappings, including your standard curled up naked in the shower scene and a moment where a character feels the need to fall to the pavement in the pouring rain all in the name of drama and symbolism. However, Sax does something very interesting with his approach to this material.
Not only does he play up the story’s natural melodramatic angle, but he brings a bit of quiet psychological terror to the story through the use of camera effects and a minimal, yet haunting score by Andrew Lockington. It makes for a marriage of intensity and drama that seems to suit this film quite well and it never reaches a point where one or the other is overbearing.
Berry does well as Frankie and her alter ego Alice. The two personalities don’t ask for drastic departures in acting style so you aren’t taken aback when her alter-personality takes over. And given the film’s setting and the character’s age, Alice’s racist outbursts don’t seem too over the top. Where I had a small problem with the performance was with the third personality, a young child Oz simply names “Genius” due to the intelligence level of this particular alter ego.
“Genius” is the one part of Frankie that calls for Berry to really convince the audience of her character’s plight. She comes close, but I just couldn’t get past the unconvincing baby talk. When this personality took over all I saw was Halle Berry acting rather than the character she’s meant to be. Luckily, it isn’t a major portion of the story or even one that breaks the story altogether, but it’s a flaw nonetheless.
For the most part I was pleasantly surprised. When a film like this is added at the last minute as an obvious attempt to get Halle Berry an Oscar nomination your guard immediately goes up. Then when you see six names given writing credit, it’s another sign this is a film that may have been forced into production merely to garner awards attention. Not at all.
Frankie and Alice is a decent film although it could have just as easily found its way onto television as much as in theaters. This isn’t a knock as much as it’s a fact, and while I know Berry will continue to challenge herself as an actress, it will be interesting to see where Sax goes from here. He moved from White Noise to the disappointing attempt at a franchise starter in Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker in 2006. Neither would have led us to believe this would be the next step in his career and should he build off this, his next outing may be worth making a mental note.
