Alice

Do not be fooled by the poster (or the image one can see here with the title) - because this is not a titilating affair ... this is not here to excite you (pun intended), but rather tell a story. Actually one of the first ... let's call it sexual encounters might bring memories to some from their teenage escapedes ... remembering that there was almost no fun involved and a lot of things that went wrong. Only good thing here: patience that has developed over the years .. and luck to some degree.

Because this is about escort and not depraved acts. So if you are into a story of a struggling woman and her not reliable husband ... and their kid ... well you are in the right place. Again just don't expect this to give you excitement in a different way than it actually does. This is pure drama ... and a good one at that. Well played, well structured ... pacing may not be your thing, but it chooses to go this way ...

This film was so well acted and directed it really drew me in right from the off. I really felt sorry for Alice,discovering her husband had blown all her money left to her on seeing prostitutes. I rooted for her all through the film,a superb lead performance,though to be honest everyone acted their socks off in this one. Best film i have seen in ages. Well worth a look.

Here I am two years on writing a review. A seriously worthy one. This film is hands down one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in the last two years, and I've seen hundreds.

Having nothing to watch I put this on. I don't speak French so had the chore of handling subtitles throughout it's length. Well it was a roller coaster ride of excitement, suspense, laughter, sadness, awe, disbelief and enjoyment. It was almost perfectly blended into a tight tale of despair, personal growth and becoming.

The screenplay was excellent, as is the direction and general production. The acting is nothing short of superb and the lead. "Emilie Piponnier" should get an Oscar for her performance, or at the very least the French equivalent. To be fair, all the performances are good, and I was totally immersed in this movie to the point where I watched another French film after just to prolong the moment.

Ok its not perfect. One development in the story niggled me as soon as it occurred, and for a film so good I'm surprised the writer chose this avenue for the plot since there were so many other possible scenarios that would have worked more believably and effectively that the one chosen. I'll describe it like this - If I left my husband having found out he was a dirty cop, and I then decided to pull bank jobs to survive or stay financially viable. I am NOT going to ask my husband to babysit my child! Not for any number of excellent reasons the situation presents. That is just asking for trouble, and a little ridiculous if I'm honest. Babysitters are not Truffles and what would otherwise have been absolute perfection was a tad tainted by this development.

Additionally, the sexual encounters in the movie are somewhat... I think 'Cartoonish' is the best way to describe them. I'm not sure if the writer/director has done any real research into high end escorts, but I think they have confused the establishment with one catering for men interested in bondage, or perhaps the 'M' in S&M. The notion that the clientele for high end escorts primarily consist of sexually inept momma's boys with low esteem that all come to fruition at the mere sight of a woman in lingerie is a far stretch from reality, but I'm going to give a little leeway here since some 'poetic license' is needed for the film to work.

In spite of these short comings I'm giving the film 8/10, because, I still enjoyed it so much. Besides, it's fantastic production well worth seeing, and all this coming from a guy who appreciates a good film, but would normally skip a film of this genre and not given it a chance in the normal course of things. Prejudice can be a hindrance to enjoyment.

Greetings again from the darkness. So much trust goes into a marriage. We try to choose someone we can imagine growing old with, and also whose morals are in line with our own ... especially if raising kids is part of the plan. Of course sometimes things don't work out as hoped, and writer-director Josephine Mackerras shows us what happens when things go horribly wrong - when the person we have trusted is so drastically different than the person we believed them to be.

Alice (Emilie Piponnier) and Francois (Martin Swabey) appear to be a normal wife and husband raising a cute little boy named Jules. Alice is a beautiful and caring person, whose goodness shines through in her smile. Francois is the charming type who recites literary passages at dinner parties before planting a passionate kiss on his wife in front of everyone at the table. One day, Alice's credit card is declined which leads her down the dark trail no one hopes to travel. Francois has maxed out the cards and emptied the bank account. Worse yet, their apartment is nearing foreclosure from lack of payments.

Further research leads Alice to Elegant Escorts and the realization that her beloved husband has been leading a secret double life - one that has left her penniless with a young child. What happens next is quite surprising. Sweet Alice proves to be much tougher than she appears. After some terrible guidance from her mother, Alice takes control of the situation in order to save her home and provide for her son. Her friend and mentor in her new vocation is Lisa (Chloe Boreham), who offers tips and emotional support. This gets her through the clumsy and awkward initial attempts at carrying out her new duties. Soon she believes the plan is working and she'll be able to save her home, but alas, Francois reappears and complicates the situation.

This is the first feature film from Ms. Mackerras and the film is a Grand Jury prize nominee at SXSW. The obvious comparison here is to Louis Bunuel's masterpiece BELLE DE JOUR (1967) starring Catherine Deneuve, with the obvious difference being one character was bored and craved attention, while another was desperate to save her home. Self-discovery plays a role for both. The tagline for this film is: "She did everything right, until it all went wrong", and it's a reminder that often we find the inner strength needed during times of crisis. The film also offers up a nice moral of the story in noting the cleansing power of nature. It's a terrific little film that flashes significant talent from filmmaker Josephine Mackerras and lead actress Emilie Piponnier.

A petit femmes revange,with a real life story feel can be reckognized by everyone if chopped into chapters. a good watch for every cheated women and if you wish to have taste of the bitter pill called love. i will say the economic part hauled me worst.

a recommend, love from the grumpy old MAN.