Anna Kendrick talks about her movie "Alice, Darling." Image Source: USA Today
Anna Kendrick talks about her movie "Alice, Darling."
During a recent interview with USA Today, actress Anna Kendrick discussed her recent film "Alice, Darling" and how it impacted her two years ago, as she was coming out of a serious relationship with an emotionally abusive ex.
Looking back on the experience, Anna stated that she feels as if something had been taken away from her life, and that getting busted in the cycle of attempting to get the relationship to work and finding ways to correct it meant she was willing to sacrifice more and more of herself.
In the film, the actress plays Alice, a young woman who is entangled in an emotionally abusive relationship with a controlling boyfriend named Simon, played by Charlie Carrick. 'Alice, Darling', is a dramatic thriller that follows Alice on a weekend trip with her two best friends, Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn). After telling lies to her controlling boyfriend, Simon, concerning her whereabouts, Alice is noticeably uncomfortable and nervous throughout the journey. Tess and Sophie notice that something is wrong with their friend and attempt to help Alice by acknowledging her abusive situation. The film depicts Simon's casually malevolent ways of messing with Alice's head as he regularly checks where she appears to be going and what she gets to eat, and he guilt tripping her into going out with friends for drinks.
During the conversation with USA Today, the actress stated that she was repeatedly abandoning herself while being in that relationship and added that a component had been very lost for a long period but she was still working on regaining it. Anna Kendrick stated that she did not want to make a film that would have helped lead her to believe that her life is not as bad as it appears in the film, adding that she may be trying to deal with a regular, healthy conflict. The Pitch Perfect actress said it's courageous to stay with the main character's experience rather than telling the viewers that this is the violence they can point to. She adds that one needs to consider the psychological impact on a person and trust that it is abuse.
According to Anna Kendrick, daily events add so many components to more apparent instants of inappropriate behavior, and she describes that whenever an individual is enraged or violent, it may sometimes be more straightforward to say alright, this has gone over the line, and this is not about one's own, this is about them. When it comes to the smaller, more delicate instances, Anna conveys a feeling of conviction and supremacy. But if she says anything, she'll be told she's hallucinating.
Like her character in the film, Anna Kendrick dispersed details about her relationship across the whole of her discussions with numerous friends because she knew that if she tried to tell the entire story to one individual, that person would ask her to leave. Anna Kendrick was ultimately able to recognize the abuse as what it was thanks to therapy. Although she needs to keep the details vague, she describes a huge defining moment as discovering black-and-white evidence that her companion was gaslighting her.
She went on to say that she had reaped every benefit from beginning her recovery, but it was still difficult, and she doesn't know how people do it, just having to go. She said she doesn't have any proof, but she has to believe in herself and she feels like crying. The actress admits that she feels as if might do a little too much on screen because in her mind she is thinking that she has to make it interesting because she doesn't believe she can just exist and be compelling, or that anyone will invest in that character unless she is sweating to be charismatic. So, to be honest, Anna admitted that feeling a little bored in the movie for periods made her feel pretty uneasy but it was a strange parallel to trusting that she is enough and that that would translate on screen.
Aside from the film's emotional resonance, Kendrick saw "Alice, Darling" as an opportunity to branch out from the peppy, often musical characters she'd played in "Pitch Perfect" and "Trolls."
Mary Nighy, the film's director, says she was most impressed by Anna Kendrick's honesty and emotional availability during filming. She explained that she is certain that the film would have been too challenging for some individuals to reconsider, but Anna Kendrick was very transparent about wishing to notify others who might be undergoing emotional distress, so the movie's accuracy had already become crucial if it has to have been challenging to revisit at points of time.
Anna Kendrick has been asked to relive past trauma in countless interviews since the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last fall. The experience so far with interviews and press conferences and the listening to people has been mostly positive, she says adding that she didn't find it provoking at all while making the film, being around individuals who've had similar struggles, and being open about it. She notes that it feels very comfortable and toasty but the only point that's felt weird and creepy is being in a situation where somebody is just a teeny bit judgmental. The actress lastly adds that it's no one's job to come in and meet her where she is that's why she is just trying to make sure she is only talking about it in a room and in a way that feels OK.
Information Source: USA TODAY!
