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Recently there have been a number of really powerful films that properly address the physical abuse of women. It would be good to think that some of them might even be able to make a difference.

Promising Young Woman and Women Talking very much have this potential, not only in prompting women to stand up to attackers where they can, but also in making men think about their own actions. This may only be likely at a lower level; I fear that nothing in cinema is going to deter truly toxic masculinity but maybe those that are guilty of intimidating and chauvinistic behaviours that they had previously managed to justify to themselves might rethink their attitudes and conduct on seeing an analysis of these topics on screen.

Alice, Darling does this too but here the focus is not on the type of violence that leaves bruises, rather this centres on emotional abuse. There is clearly a hope that this film will encourage women to remove themselves from such damaging relationships, but also that men who are inflicting this on their partners see themselves reflected in what is depicted and realise the damage they themselves are causing.

The plot sees Anna Kendrick’s Alice suffering crippling anxiety because of the controlling behaviours of her partner. This causes friction with her closest friends who don’t realise quite what is happening to her and everything comes to a head when she tentatively agrees to join them on a girl’s weekend away. The movie shows the immediate effects of her dysfunctional relationship but it also essays the expectations people for her to be stronger and the blame they attribute to her perceived failure as a friend every time she runs back to her man. She is angry at her friends and they at her when none of them are actually responsible. Only slowly does it become apparent, to the characters at least, that the change in her is due to a horrid fear of disapproval. criticism and belittlement from the guy that is supposed to love her.

Her partner actually remains in the background for much of the film but there remains the constant threat that he will appear in their lakeside retreat and the whole things will descend into an overblown action thriller. It is crucial that this doesn’t happen though as the measure the movie maintains is key in not letting men who might be doing similar things in their own relationships distance themselves from it. Interestingly some of the posters do suggest that this is indeed something akin to The Invisible Man or Sleeping with the Enemy, but this is totally misleading. I can only assume this is designed to bring a larger audience to the film and actually if this brings people to it that really need to see it, then great!

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I accept that it might be wishful thinking to hope that real life perpetrators of this kind of bullying might see this and be challenged, but it is also relevant to anyone on the periphery and this film helps one person make one change, for themselves or others, that helps one woman escape from a comparable situation then it has become more important than 99% of other movies. I am sure that it already has.

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The Ripley Factor:

This film obviously has a clear feminist theme but it is more subtle than some of the other movies mentioned previously. Rather than it being a story that demonstrably rails against male oppression, it is one that simply depicts women quietly finding strength. More than that though it shows the power of sisterhood and solidarity and the fortitude that can come though female fellowship over individuality. That might not be the Ripley Factor in the terms in which I normally define it but it is something as good, if not better.

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Alice, Darling is available for home viewing now.