ALICE FADES AWAY: An Easy Watch That Will Fade From Memory

You ever watch a film and find you seriously want to love it, but you just can’t? This was the feeling I had after watching Alice Fades Away from writer and director Ryan Bliss. While the film maintains your attention, there is a certain spark missing throughout its core, leaving it enjoyable but far from memorable.

Fading Away

Alice Fades Away opens to the soft cooing of a baby, a young mother looking on in awe and wonder. Juxtaposed to this heartwarming display, James (William Sadler) is asked “tell me about Alice.” The warm lighting of the opening shot is drowned in the darkness surrounding James, his words foreboding and contradictive, describing her as having empty eyes and missing a soul. “Margaret should never have trusted her.”

As the opening continues, viewers are left with a montage of informational tidbits, not enough to completely understand, but just enough to keep you interested. Over the course of seven days, Alice Fades Away tackles the unknown, each day revealing more about what has transpired to bring Alice (Ashley Shelton) to a childhood farm, and where that journey has still yet to take her. As each day progresses, there is a feeling of the calm before the storm, a storm that arrives in blood and death.

Not Every Story Wants to be Told

What’s important to understand in Alice Fades Away is that each and every character within the film is haunted. While not always immediately understood, their ghosts come out slowly. Alice is haunted by the demons of her past, the farmer is haunted by the deaths of his sons – others by the wars they have survived. There is a survivor’s guilt that lingers just below each story, one that prevents them from moving forward or from growing beyond the confines they have placed themselves within. It is a moving and pensive angle for the film to tackle making it one of the most striking aspects.

There is also a constant strive for peace amongst this cast of characters, for some just out of reach while others the path is less visible. It’s almost a reflective experience seeing others striking for peace, never relenting in their journey no matter how far from it they may be. There is also tranquility crafted in the company kept throughout the farm. While each may be recovering from tragedy, the ghosts from the past just out of view, they have each other and they know they are not alone.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Alice Fades Away, even with all these carefully crafted elements, does not remain more memorable than it should. As the man, in the beginning, describes Alice’s eyes as empty and soulless, there is almost the same feeling resonating overall. The kills and the editing surrounding them is more abrupt than one would expect, cutting through the crescendoing pace of the film. There are also moments I found myself wanting to know more. I wanted to know more about the relationship between Alice and Caroll (Tommy Beardmore), as well as the relationship between her and the farmer. There were animosity and resentment that lingers once all the pieces are put together, though the feelings are never addressed down themselves. Alice Fades Away basically left me wanting more.

Conclusion

Alice Fades Away is a decent film, just not a memorable one. There is a deep examination of the search for peace and tranquility, coupled with the gripping weight of survivor’s guilt. It even boasts good performances from its central cast – especially Ashley Shelton and Timothy Sekk – but will leave its viewers wanting, wishing for more. If you are looking for an easy film to sit back to, Alice Fades Away may be what you are looking for. If you are looking for a film with a little more meat to resonate long after its conclusion, this may not be the film for you.

Have you seen Alice Fades Away? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Alice Fades Away is available on VOD.

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