It's no secret that Martin Scorsese has spent much of his career making films about New York. More specifically, men in New York. That's his background. That's what he knows. He's good at doing male New York stories so why do anything different.

Well, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is different, but the result is still great. The film takes place out west, primarily in Arizona and centers on Alice (Ellen Burstyn), a woman sent to find her way after her husband is killed in a car accident.

Alice is a major switch for Scorsese. Instead of looking at the bond between men, he's exploring the coming-of-age of a woman nearing mid-life. Generally, women have gotten the short end in Scorsese's films. He is after all a man and comes at life from the male perspective. However, Alice shows tremendous depth and care for character on the female side. Alice is a hardworking mother. She gave up a future in singing to become a "good little house wife." She is true to her husband even though he is abusive and disrespectful.

His death opens a new opportunity for Alice, one she knows she wanted deep down, but she would never come out and say it. Alice packs her things in the station wagon and heads to Arizona with her son Donald (Billy Green Bush) and moves from California to Arizona, if only for a short time. Alice sets out to become a singer again but settles for a job watressing in a diner.

Throughout this experience, Alice goes through a period of self discovery. In the beginning she is a pushover of a mother. Her son, who is extremely eccentric having been suppressed by his gruff, seemingly unloving father, walks all over her. He has gotten whatever he's wanted from her, presumably because Alice sees the reality in his situation and wants to show Billy love, but often in the wrong ways. Through her independence, Alice becomes strong. Discipline is all of a sudden possible, albeit a struggle because she doesn't want to feel unloving.

Part of the richness of Alice is the deep cast of supporting characters. Green is delightfully annoying as Alice's son. He's got a dorky look to him and a definite awkwardness about him that makes him all the more endearing. Kris Kristofferson plays the down-to-earth love interest, David. Harvey Keitel appears in another Scorsese film, although his character is the opposite of what he usually plays. In both Who's That Knocking at My Door and Mean Streets he plays the flawed but sympathetic hero. Here he's a cheating husband with whom Alice has a short fling.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore was a huge change of pace for Scorsese. There's little action, it's more rural than urban, it's about a woman and not a man. Even still, Scorsese shows his range as a filmmaker and proves what makes him so good: he's a director with an eye for fancy camera work but a heart for his characters and the journeys they take.

©Movie Views; August 6, 2006