Alex is a workaholic, spending nearly all of her time on her latest high-profile court case. Returning home one day to her family, Alex is confronted by her husband, George, who explains that he needs some time away, being someone who has become emotionally and mentally exhausted from the constant duties of being a stay-at-home father. Now faced with the events of everyday life by herself, Alex finds herself of a journey of personal discovery as she begins to pick up the pieces of her broken family. Chris Messina's Alex of Venice is a solid albeit slight story of one woman's journey of self-discovery that falters at times due to a few questionable decisions. Alex of Venice paints Alex as a character who has never really had a chance to determine what she really wants, having been pregnant with her oldest child at the tender age of 19, essentially falling into marriage with George in the process. The biggest problem facing Chris Messina's Alex of Venice is simply that it brings nothing new to the table, being simply another film in the "self-discovery' sub-genre of indie filmmaking that quite frankly struggles to validate the need for having an entire feature around this character. Even George's departure and subsequent transition that Alex faces feels far too contrived, as the film feels completely comfortably in writing off their failed marriage as simply a bi-product of getting married too young. While this certainly happens, Alex of Venice could have spent more time in the beginning exploring the relationship dynamic of Alex and George, providing the viewer with more insight their strained relationship which in turn would have only helped the meaty 'self-discovery' aspect of the film. Without spedning more time at the beginning I couldn't help but wonder- If the gender roles in this film were switched would the characters be sympathetic in the slightest? Alex spends little time attempting to fix the marriage, moving on to new potential relationships rather quickly, something which I couldn't help but feel would be far more vilified by the audience if the character had been a male. The character study aspect of Alex of Venice is the lifeblood of the film, but the cinematography is quite impressive in its own right, as the filmmakers adoration for Los Angeles is captured throughout. While Alex of Venice never quite achieves the powerful mediation on self-discover it intends, the film manages to keep the viewer engaged due in large part to a strong central performance from Mary Elizabeth Windstead, who gives depth to a character beyond the written words of the film's screenplay.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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