Malice in Wonderland

A fractured spin on the Alice In Wonderland story.

I just watched this film and I was enchanted from start to finish. I highly recommend this film to anyone who has a twisted sense of humor.

The characters were intriguing and the film kept me guessing, I didn't see the ending coming. Definitely worth seeing. Some excellent acting and concepts. Maggie Grace (Alice) And Danny Dyer (Whitey) both perform their rolls with excellence and they have a wonderful chemistry together.

It Is definitely worth taking the time to watch this film, it's a confusing ride, but well worth it.

It seems financially viable to release this now and an oversight not to, even if it is straight to DVD. With only a few short weeks until the release of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, anything bearing roughly the same name or subject matter is likely to gain more interest that it would do under normal circumstances. Lewis Carroll's version of Wonderland (and Alice, come to that) is altogether different here, however. This Simon Fellows directed version of the well-loved tale takes one step firmly to the dark side of humanity, edging further away from fantasy than either Lewis Carroll or Burton's interpretation of Carroll's undoubted masterpiece.

Simon Fellows gathers an eclectic cast ensemble and seems to have read through the story of Alice and then cherry-picked scenes that suit his cinematic vision and then chopped them together. Really, this boils down to two or three set pieces that make some sort of cohesive sense, with the rest just filler in-between. For all that, however, there are genuinely, but rare enjoyable moments throughout.

I'm not known for being a Danny Dyer fan, and still remain as unimpressed by him on the whole as I was before, having only been able to admire one of his delivered lines throughout the entire film. Maggie Grace plays the part of Alice, a poor little rich girl that has lost her memory after being knocked over by Whitey's (Dyer) taxi.   Sounds a world away from the usual fantasy fare, right? Well this version of Alice In Wonderland is set in modern day inner city. The White Rabbit is a taxi driver who is off to buy a cake and is very late for the party, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are both club doormen and stealing tarts in this movie is driving off in an eighteen wheeler with a collection of hookers in the back. An unusual take on the literary work, and if I'm brutally honest, more than a little bit of a mess.

The entire movie feels cluttered, unkempt and sprawling. This never feels like a fantasy, more the intermittent recollections of a hallucinating girl on a one night class A bender. It never feels magical nor enchanting or indeed any element that the original work instilled in its reader.

It would be fair to suggest that this is not at all what Felllows had wanted to do with the film, but then you do have to ask, just what was it that he was trying to achieve? From what he has delivered here, it is not easy to tell, apart from a simple circular tale that could have been about anything, at anytime, anywhere. If so, then why base it on a well loved children's fable? (See paragraph one)

The acting is roundly awful by the main players. Dyer is famous for his usually overtly violent films that require him to shout a lot, point angry fingers and throw his fists about and Grace is as wooden as another well loved children's character. Some credibility comes in the form of Pam Ferris, Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Matt King and Nathaniel Parker in their own oddly created cameos, but none make enough of an appearance throughout to save this film from its rightful place in the bowels of DVD purgatory.

In summary, avoid this if you have the option. If you have to sit through it, I'd pay it the attention it deserves and make sure you have a book handy, or if you are of an hallucinogenic bent, you may find this riveting after you have dropped a tab. I would never suggest illegal drug-taking for recreation, but really, you will need more than just your brain, ears and patience to get to the end of it.

This is an updated tale, loosely based on "Alice in Wonderland."

Alice (Maggie Grace) is an American law-student on a journey to find her mother; in the process is struck down by a London taxi. This causes her to have a small problem of not remembering who she is or where she is.

We have the same problem keeping track of her in some sort of sleazy dream world. As she moves from one unsavory scene to the next. We eventually see there is meaning to the tale of circles in circles.

The DVD has extras that help explain what was trying to be accomplished in the presentation other than the fun of discovery.

I found this movie on Netflix and was initially unsure about it. The title seemed stupid and the rating wasn't all that high. Even once I started watching it, I was just mostly confused. I was interested, yes, but so so confused. For this reason, I will say that this movie isn't for everyone. It's definitely weird, and not just in a slightly quirky kind of way. My advice is, if you start watching this movie and feel put off, start over.

That's what I did, and my experience was increased tenfold. I put my laptop away (I'm very guilty of browsing the internet while watching movies) and found a time when I could actually focus on the movie. The script and the acting was fantastic, with some over-the-top characters, brilliant little details and an overall dream-like feel. When it comes to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" adaptions, my favorites tend to be the ones that can recreate that same playful crazy feeling that made Lewis Carroll's version so appealing to me as a child. This was definitely in that thread. I'm not sure how well this movie would go over with somebody who hasn't read, or didn't love, the original book. Personally, I had a little rush of joy seeing how wonderfully frantic the trial scene was, just as it was in the book. There were lots of connections like that throughout the film. That said, there were also some great original touches.

In general, I'd definitely advise you to watch it at least once. (While actually paying attention) Some people will love it to death, and others will probably think it's stupid. I think it's worth seeing which category you fall into.

Viewed at the Marche du Film, Festival de Cannes 2009

With not a lot of money but a bundle of ideas, director Simon Fellows and writer Jayson Rothwell, have come up with a massively entertaining twist on the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland. Only this time it's a young woman with amnesia, a taxi-driver, assorted gangsters, druggies and weirdos who feature.

At the same time, Malice in Wonderland stays true to the novel on which its based, proving that old ideas can still be the best; same story, new version, as it were.

Maggie Grace makes an interesting Alice, here a young American on the run from (and also towards) something, if only she knew what. Some of the dialogue between her and Whitey, the taxi driver, is excellent. Scratch that! A lot of the dialogue is excellent, with some great lines to cut out and keep for future use.

It's clear that a low budget has been made to go a long way, but view it as a lot of bang for low bucks and not as cloth being cut too thinly. What surprises about this film is just how assured it is.

Quibbles? Nothing of note, really. It would, theoretically, be nice to have seen what would have resulted had the production budget been higher, but then the film would perhaps have lost some, if not all, of its edge.

As a calling card, Malice in Wonderland shows some real talent at work. The basic question, is it worth paying to see? Absolutely!