After Alice (2000) Reviews

• A Treat For "Alice" Fans

  user-382004-05-20

  Working the night shift in a seedy police station, stumbling through life in an alcoholic haze, Detective Mickey Hayden can hardly be said to have a firm grasp on reality to begin with, but when a bump on the head unleashes terrifying psychic visions, things get truly weird. Soon he's on the trail of a serial killer and unraveling the mystery of his beautiful first victim, the elusive Alice. The role of an embittered burn-out seems tailor-made for Keifer Sutherland and he makes the most of it. The plot's typical serial killer stuff, but it has enough quirks, twists, and genuine surprises to raise it above the usual genre fare and even make up for a painfully low budget. (One wonders what this film could have been if there'd been money for a few more rewrites and a few more takes.) All in all, 'After Alice' is a pleasant diversion for anyone, but for fans of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice' books, it's a real treat. From the topsy-turvy reality in which things are rarely what they've seem, to more obvious references -- a killer called 'The Jabberwocky', who leaves playing cards on his victims' bodies -- there's an 'Alice' reference at every turn. Below is a list of the ones I uncovered. Since finding them yourself is half the fun, I've marked them as spoilers. SPOILERS Cast of Characters Mickey - In a sense he's Alice himself wandering through strange landscapes, encountering odd characters, but Harvey, recognizing his true nature, identifies him as the hapless, bumbling White Knight. John Hatter (Mickey's boss) - Is he really 'mad'? You be the judge Claudette - An African-American transvestite. Obviously, the Black Queen Margaret Ellison - Mickey calls her the Red Queen, but her brutal nature suggests, more specifically, the Queen of Hearts. Gideon Wood - Suspected of being the Jabberwocky killer, his ambiguous role is more suggestive of a snark (or a boojum perhaps). Harvey - His role as unofficial guide to 'wonderland' and his name, evocative of another famous cinematic rabbit, makes me think he must be the White Rabbit Dr. Vera Swann - Her last name and relationship with Mickey suggest the White Queen. Other Connections Mickey's adventures begin when he chases a man in white and falls down a (rabbit) hole. Mickey drunkenly tells his cat to stop grinning at him (Cheshire Cat) The killer is revealed 'through the looking glass'. The climatic showdown ends in a swirl of playing cards, just as Alice's adventure did in the book. The statues in the garden look like giant chess pieces.

• very well done, for a low-budget movie

  smcl2002-02-06

  I don't watch PSI factor or any other tv science fiction series because they are either too badly written or over the top and really gross you out. But I do enjoy "psychic" movies. Kiefer Sutherland's performance was top-notch. He actually raised the calibre of the material with his excellent delivery of occasionally awkward or mundane lines. His professionalism is admirable. He refused to give a bad performance. The other psychic, Harvey, was a hoot and equally well played.I agree with Len Butz that this is a subtle movie and I thank him for his insight re Alice In Wonderland. I liked this movie very much. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys watching fine performances, where an actor is given rough materials and actually improves the work by virtue of his own presence in the movie. He is doing an equally incredible job in his tv series 24, and certainly deserved his Golden Globe. If you don't go in expecting an Elm Street slasher, you will enjoy this movie.

• Good performance by Sutherland in interesting movie

  Len-152000-05-16

  ALICE is the kind of movie they made in the 30's and 40's. Never attempts to be an "event". Just wants to entertain. And it does. I was surprised by Kiefer Sutherland. In a role that could be a cliche, he made it real. The plot does make allusions to ALICE IN WONDERLAND. A guy dressed in white does go through a hole and Kiefer does fall down one. Like ALICE the plot does twist and turn, but with a freshness you don't see in small movies. I loved the direction, Sutherland, just a very fast paced and interesting movie.

• A lesson in acting...

  sheena-12004-12-09

  People watch movies for a variety of different reasons. This movie didn't have the big budget, there's no special effects, no car chases and there's no explosions. Actually reality doesn't have much of these either. At least not in my life. This is a very real movie about very real people, none of them perfect in any way but together they are put into a situation where they learn to explore and accept what is different and that in turn makes order out of chaos. I am not prepared to limit the possibility of parapsychology, since I'm neither an expert nor use the full extent of my own brain. So watch this movie for the characters. It is brim-full of a whole cast of wonderful quirky folk. Within the first three minutes Kiefer Sutherland enacts Detective Michael Hayden's life superbly and he keeps developing the character throughout the movie. Excellent acting, very believable. Henry Czerny could not have been cast better and the rapport between his 'Harvey' and Kiefer's 'Mickey' enhances the oppositeness of their characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the cranky landlady, 'Mrs Ramsay', I'm sure she and my mother-in-law are good friends!!! There's a host more of these wonderful characters but space is limited here so watch the movie and enjoy them.

• simply good

  carrie1002009-08-04

  I thought this film was excellent, quirky and different to the usual run of the mill 'disengaged cop catching serial killer' film. Kiefer Sutherland was brilliant as usual - I really don't think I have seen anything that he has done where he has not acted brilliantly. The dialogue was funny at times lightening the mood, and the plot engaging. Thanks to other reviewers for showing the link with Alice in Wonderland - I hadn't picked up on those. I would recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of Kiefer Sutherlands (as I am) and to anyone who wants to watch an entertaining film for a couple of hours. It was a shame that it wasn't released at the cinemas for a wider audience.