Aspettando Alex

The attempt to portray Alex (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as a woman in flux, forced by circumstance to "reinvent herself", was lost on this viewer. Instead, little was done to drag her out of the mire of self absorption. She takes everyone around her for granted, and is clueless about what is going on with the people with whom she shares a household, most importantly her son Dakota (Skylar Gaertner) . It was very difficult if not impossible to find any empathy for Alex especially when her husband George (Chris Messina) manages, at a distance, to know more about what's going on with their child than she does. Alex's sister Anya (Julianna Guill) is invited by patriarch Roger (Don Johnson) during George's absence for reasons never revealed, and thankfully so, as Dakota would be a footnote barely visible to the story line, (let alone his mother), without Anya's playful interactions and wise counsel. Rather than building a powerful thesis on family dynamics the film focuses on superficial distractions like getting laid or barhopping as solutions to the very real angst that accompanies dramatic life change. We don't ever know why Alex's work is so important to her, or why she cannot relate in the most basic way to her son, or how she feels about her husband, or why she thinks it's okay to expect that everyone else is responsible for managing the day-to-day tasks of raising a child and managing a career. Supporting cast do a wonderful job of carrying an otherwise lackluster character study to a predictable end. Unfortunately for Winstead, she is faced with trying to unearth profundity from the shallow grave where Alex's character is buried.

I enjoyed this quite simple and straightforward story and script. The lead female character adds to the story and the script with her extremely natural performance and lets the movie flow smoothly. Yes, it could have become a deeper movie at many levels but that would also have taken away from the simplicity of the characters portrayed. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it for a weeknight watch.

Alex (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is an environmental attorney, currently absorbed in what is possibly one of the most important cases in her career. When her stay at home husband (Messina) surprises her with the news that he needs some time for himself, she is left alone to deal with their son Dakota, her father (Don Johnson), the arrival of her free spirited sister and above all herself.

Alex Of Venice is Chris Messina's directorial debut. It was a pleasure to discover that someone who has been on the independent film making scene for some time had decided to step behind the camera. It is probably safe to view Alex of Venice as a starting point for Messina, who shows an unwavering dedication to the titular character as well as a strong focus, which allows him to maintain a consistent tone throughout the feature. There is a potentially powerful theme at the core of Alex of Venice. Dealing with the instability and vulnerability brought along by loss is where the director's attention lies. Yet, while Alex's struggle of having to juggle with much more than work related issues is immediately apparent, there appears to be little space for growth or introspection, making her overall journey unremarkable. Nothing seems to suggest that the 20 something year old protagonist might actually find a way to "reinvent" herself and be able to rise up to the challenge of being on her own for the first time. Alex's relationships feel for the most part underdeveloped to the point where it becomes difficult to view her being a mother, a daughter and a sister as significant elements in her identity. Mary Elizabeth Winstead does the best with what she is given, portraying a young woman who is destabilized in more ways than one by her partner's sudden absence. There might be an idea of a missed opportunity after viewing Alex Of Venice. As previously stated, it could be considered a not entirely convincing, yet hopeful starting point for Chris Messina's love affair with characters dealing with the hardships that result from changes that are as traumatic as they are unexpected.

This should be at least some 20 minutes longer. From beginning I felt whole storytelling as rushed. Husband suddenly announces that he can't do it anymore, and leaves. But we couldn't see almost nothing why, how family was really dysfunctional. And it was so most time. I don't know who to blame more: writers or director. Probably both. It seems that director felt in love with Mary Elizabeth Winstead (MEW in further text), and focused on her all time - there was plenty of scenes with only her on screen. Actually, I can not blame him for that - camera loves her, and she was ideal cast for idealistic, as young dedicated to school, work type young woman. I watched this mostly because of her. Don Johnson was pleasant surprise in atypical role. Unfortunately, there is strong impression that male characters were not just lower time on screen, but presented as lower worthy. Still, it could be pretty good indie movie with better storytelling and more time. Was problem with budget or directors inexperience, I can't tell. Acting from MEW, Don Johnson and Skylar Gaertner was superb. Other did good job too. My rating is 6 - it was watchable, not boring, maybe simply because you can not stop to watch MEW :-)

To me, Indie movies are not really about a deep meaning or some moral lesson that is meant to be learned upon the conclusion of a movie. I mean its nice when it is there, but at the same time, I am perfectly fine if there isnt one.

Indie movies are about feeling melancholic, relaxed and careless. They are about forgetting your own troubles for an hour and a half and just enjoying the spectacle.

With Alex of Venice I got just that. Its a carefree movie with a central plot of a woman trying to piece her life together after her husband leaves her. It has its holes and misses in the plot but it was never meant to compete for academy awards. It was meant to be enjoyed for its simplicity and I did enjoy it.

The movie looks nice with good color patterns and nice soundtracks. Mary Elizabeth is pleasant as the lead and the supporting cast leaves nothing to complain about.

If you want to learn a big moral lesson and then write a thesis statement on how divorce affects young women, then this is not your movie. However, if you want to relax for and hour and a half and just watch a nice movie, then give Alex of Venice a shot.