Frankie & Alice

Plot synopsis:
The film primarily takes place in Los Angeles in 1973. Frankie, a black female gogo dancer, unknowingly suffers from dissociative identity disorder, caused by a traumatic incident from her childhood (the death of a white man she was in love with, and her mother murdering her newborn when she realized the child's father was her white lover), which she has repressed. The film begins with Frankie performing at a local strip club. She is one of the best strippers at the club, and often demands the attention of wealthy Wall Street businessmen. One night the club's female employees go out for a "Girls Night". As the girls observe all the men at the bar, Frankie gets the attention of a well-known bartender. She agrees to go to his home for casual sex. Before the two can engage in any sexual activity, Frankie switches to an alter ego and cracks the man's head open with a picture frame. Word of Frankie's violent activity spreads to the strip club quickly, and Frankie is fired from the needed job. The same manic episodes occur while Frankie is at the laundromat and a wedding. During a session with the psychiatrist Frankie learns that she has two alters: Genius, a seven-year-old child; and Alice, a Southern white racist woman, whom Frankie struggles to overcome. Through regular psychiatric sessions with her doctor, she begins to recall the traumatic events that led to her split personality. She realizes that a white man with whom she was in love died in a car accident while they were on the road. In the same session, she also uncovers the memory of the birth of her child. Moments after the birth, her mother realizes that the child is half-white and takes it away to kill it, thus triggering her personality to split.
After she watches the taped sessions and puts everything together, she begins the healing process, taking control of her life and semi-integrating the personalities that Dr. Oz assures her will always be present.

Tags: flashback

Review:
Multiple personality films have always done well (The Three Faces of Eve, Sybil) and have garnered the lead actresses in both an academy award.
Halle Berry (Frankie) was outstanding in channeling the other personalities trapped inside her head.
I think that knowing that this is a true story adds to the appeal of the film and I was thrilled that the film explained what happened to the actual people at the end.
I asked a few people after the movie, what they thought of the film and they all pretty much said the same thing; they liked the film, but it wasn't what they were expecting.
Well i had heard little and nothing about this flick and only finding out about it after i saw that Halle Berry was nominated for a golden globe and reading the review and synopsis to this hidden away little flick and found out it was a true life case of a woman with split personality disorder.
It turns out these mood swings are a lot more serious and turn out to be s.p.d. Frankie has two others sharing her tired little body, one a frightened but smart as a whip 9yr old girl who her psychiatrist Dr. Oz (Stellan Skarsgard) names genius and an racist white woman named Alice.
An overall good film that lot of reviewers and critics have been calling a Sybil rip off ( I don't call it that but the mental illness is the same thats for sure) Berry's nomination for the golden globe failed and wasn't won as it went to Natalie Portman's performance in Black Swan (another acting job that was well deserved of the win) however she once again pulled off a solid job along with a stellar performance in this film..
I did not realize that Frankie and Alice was a 2010 film until I looked it up at IMDb. Although, I did notice while viewing the film that Halle looked incredible and youthful as the lead character in the title role of Frankie.
Frankie Murdock (Halle Berry) comes across as someone who knows what she has to do to survive her circumstances how to pick a mark to get paid and even hands out vocational advice to coworkers.
I knew from the trailer that the film dealt with multiple personality disorder or whatever is the current clinical name for split personalities, so the film The Three Faces of Eve came to mind as I attentively watched the story unfold.
Through a series of flashbacks we see Frankie as a child and a young woman and eventually learn and understand the root of her mental illness as she undergoes treatment with Dr. Oz (Stellan Skarsgard).
She played the role very convincingly with Oz and against the other key characters in the film her mother Edna (Phylicia Rashad) and her sister Maxine (Miranda Bailey oops, I mean Chandra Wilson).
While the movie itself, direction and editing, may be a little choppy at times, Halle Berry's performance is a surefire bet for a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
The only better performance by an actress from a movie released in theaters during 2010 is by Jessica Chastain in and as Jolene.Sadly, both Jolene and Frankie And Alice are films released by very independent studios.As for Freestyle Releasing and Frankie And Alice, they have a great new publicist in charge of Oscar campaigns, so bet the house on one of the 5 spots in the 2011 Best Actress Oscar race to go to Halle Berry.
And a Golden Globe nod too.Her performance as a multiracial character (based on a true story) with multiple personality disorder is heartbreaking, convincing and uplifting at the end.Phylicia Rashad, who plays Berry's mother in the movie, is also outstanding.As for who'll actually win the Oscar; Annette Bening, since she's a three time Oscar loser, twice to Hilary Swank, and once to Kathy Bates.
Halle Berry already has a Best Actress Oscar for Monster's Ball, and while she deserves it over Bening, politics just may prove too strong for Berry to win a second this time around..
While the theme of dissociative identity disorder has played a key part in many movies like 'Sybil' (to name a few), I've always found it a fascinating theme.
I also liked that this film does not merely focus on the patient but also on the therapist who's working hard to get to the root of Frankie's disorder.
Halle Berry makes a memorable comeback to films after a three year break.
While 'Frankie and Alice' doesn't present anything new regarding dissociative identity disorder, it's still an interesting character study (albeit a slightly dramatized one) and makes for a good watch..
Halle Berry does a wonderful job portraying a woman with multiple personalities.
Great acting by Halle Berry.
This film is about a young black woman called Frankie, and her struggle to make sense of her multiple personality disorder while having treatment in a psychiatric facility.I am impressed by Halle Berry's acting in this film, as she breezes through three vastly different personalities.
The amazing finale on the psychiatrist's couch is quite breathtaking, both plot wise and acting wise.The film is engaging and gripping throughout, and it is hard not to be sympathetic towards Frankie as her painful past is revealed through a series of flashbacks.
I never heard of this film until I saw it in the list of the movies 2010/2011, then i saw its trailer and after that, it got nominated for Golden Globe.Berry plays a woman with Multiple personality disorder.
I said to my friends "Halle done growed up!" This is her best acting role ever and she was great.
'FRANKIE & ALICE': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Halle Berry gives it her all pleading for another Oscar but fails miserably in this film based on a true story about a woman suffering from multiple personality disorder.
Given the experience involved you can kind of see why (although I hate to point blame at areas like that).Berry stars as Frankie Murdoch, a woman making ends meat by stripping at a local go-go club in the 1970's.
She struggles with two alternate personalities: one is a seven year old African American (like herself) with a genius I.Q. and the other is an older Southern white woman who is racist.
He helps her delve into her other personalities and embrace them in order to learn the nature of the disease, which involves a past loved one.The film like I said wanted to be a major awards contender but the only nominations it received were at the African-American Film Critics Association and the NAACP Image Awards for picture and actress, which Berry won at the former (she was also nominated for best dramatic lead actress at the Golden Globes, but many of the nominees this year were so laughable it's hardly worth noting).
Skarsgard and Rashad are more than adequate in their roles but Berry tries so hard to deliver an impressive performance that she overacts a little and makes the film almost laughable at times.
Halle Berry definitely deserved another Oscar for this Movie.
Frankie (Halle Berry) is a go-go dancer who is struggling with multiple personality disorder (and does her best to try and hide it from her friends and employers).
Once there she decides to work with psychotherapist Oz (Stellan Skarsgard)in order to try to gain an understanding of the inner ghosts that haunt her.As well as being the leading actress in this film Halle Berry is also one of the producers so this project clearly meant quite a lot to her - this is perhaps reflected in her performance here and I could see that she really gave this her all.
So on the one hand, you get a strong lead performance with few, if any, dull moments but there were a few things that kept gnawing away at me whilst I was watching Frankie & Alice...The film is structured with a non-linear narrative and normal films of this nature can be difficult to follow, but when you have a non-linear narrative in a film dealing with multiple personalities it does become a bit too much from time to time - this wasn't helped by the fact that in the early stages of the film that I was struggling to get to grips with which personality was which and how each personality slotted into the story.
Halle Berry's performance is good and certainly memorable, but sadly I didn't always find the screenplay complimented her performance all that well - I didn't think that her other personalities were developed as well as they could have been meaning that I found that I couldn't quite connect with/or get into Frankie's mind-set as much as I should have been able to.Despite my objections above, the film has enough of interest about it to make it worth watching and as already mentioned Halle Berry gives a stellar performance (albeit at times it's a slightly overwhelming one/two woman type performance)..
HB acting gets better & betterI'm glad she's doing more depth films like other actresses-not typical, predictable stories and she always adds a little twist to make it interesting :DIMDb shows movie did not do so good at box office-no shocker since I had no clue it existed and normally hb movies are big deals and get hype.
Great film with a good story (sadly true) and terrific acting from Halle Berry.
You can criticize me for writing a review without seeing the entire film, but I had to exit at the 45-minute point (the first time Halle -- an actress I usually admire -- morphed into baby-talk) because it was all too excruciating.
Halle Berry is a deeply troubled stripper who has multiple personalities, much like Sybil, the well known Sally Field miniseries from 1976.
Here she is Frankie, a woman who regresses into a Genius a seven year old child, and alternately, Alice a Southern white lady who dislikes black.people; good grief.
Lots of angst is on screen and Halle is competent enough to deliver a decent performance, but by the end it only looks like a Lifetime TV movie of the week..
We enjoyed the movie and acting of the beautiful and talented Ms Berry.
Nothing.In her interviews for the film Ms. Berry also appears to offer conflicting information about her actual interactions with Frankie...1.
NAMI (National Allicance on Mental Illness): Ms BERRY:"Initially, it (preparing for the role) was through meeting the real woman that the story is modeled after, Frankie.
I also did basic reading on DID and mental illness—but most of my understanding and inspiration came from Frankie's life and her story; the personal story is the best source.
In this movie, Halle Barry's character is Frankie Murdoch; and one of her consulting pysch doctors is a character portrayed by actor Matt Frewer of NBC's The A-Team fame.
Halle Berry gets to do some acting.
Frankie (Halle Berry) is a stripper with multiple personality disorder in 1970s.
The ultimate goal is acceptance." Frankie (Berry) is a go-go dancer with multiple personalities who is trying to straighten out her life.
I'll start by saying I have not seen every single movie that Halle Berry has been in but of the ones I have seen I have never been impressed with her acting.
As for the movie itself it is very good and worth watching even though it did seem to drag a little bit.
The fact that this is a true story makes it that much more powerful and if the pacing was a little quicker this would be a fantastic movie.
Overall, a movie that is very good and worth seeing especially for Berry's performance.
It made me wonder if Jesus healed this condition or would this be a psychiatric case, not involving religion, not requiring its intervention.Frankie and Alice is only a movie, it's not a "film." It wasn't a cinematic experience.
Birth is my favorite of the three, and it was a film, not a movie.I would like to mention two things that weren't right for me.
Review: I quite enjoyed this interesting movie about a woman who has multiple personalities.
She also has another personality called Genius whose a 7 year old girl, but she doesn't know how to control her alter egos so she seeks help from a psychotherapist who is interested in her case.
I honestly wasn't expecting that much from this movie because I hadn't heard of it before and Hall Berry hasn't really made anything that promising lately, but it's very well written and the fact that it's based on true events makes the concept interesting.
Watchable!Round-Up: Halle Berry got hit with the Oscar bug, by coming out with a lot of dud movies after she had received her award.
Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $700,000I recommend this movie to people who are into their deep dramas about a woman who suffers with multiple personalities and seeks help from a psychotherapist.
Based on a true story is "Frankie & Alice".
"Frankie & Alice" is a 2010 movie.
It is based on a true story of a young woman with a multiple personality disorder and is now available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming.
Halle Berry is Frankie, the afflicted woman.
A good watch interesting and eerie at times plus Halle.
I recently watched Stellan S in Nymphomaniac vol 1&2 and I enjoy his performances more every time I see him and this movie is no exception as a doctor who reconnects with his professional passions while seeking to help the dual personality conflicted Frankie (Berry) a bit of mystery in this as well will keep you wanting to know what happens til credits also a good initial watch especially if you enjoy starring roles of Halle Berry where see gets to display her range as an actress in dramatic roles that do more than simply showcase her beauty exp Monsters Ball.
I like the time period as well as the insight to Frankie's profession in that era as well and enjoyed the the how did it aspect of this movie..
Multi-Personalities Multi-Talented Halle Berry.
This is the movie in which Halle Berry should have won the Oscar instead of Monster's Ball.
Halle Berry has shown in this movie that she can act with the best of them....good job Halle..
Frankie the abused becomes Alice the abuser.Halle Berre is flawless in portraying an abuse survivor who struggled with dissociation and re enactments to master the earlier trauma of having her own child taken away by being a caged stripper.
At least she will have some control this time by getting paid.Frankie and Alice is caged by the seduction of the White American Dream and the glamour that prevents true intimacy."Frankie and Alice" is very much like the 1930 classic novel "Native So by Richard Wright with the leading role played by the fear of miscegenation.This film is well cast and well written with characters that you can believe in.
The Three Faces of Frankie - Berry's Best Role To Date.
In "Frankie and Alice," Halle Berry gracefully succeeds in this high wire act, making not 2 but 3 transformations before your very eyes - between a fiery stripper, a coldly calculating status climber and an innocent child.
It is a performance that deserves attention and accolades above and beyond Berry's controversial yet ultimately inferior performance in "Monster's Ball" for which she made history by being the first African American to win the industry's highly coveted Best Actress Oscar."Frankie and Alice" opens setting the scene as 1973 with Frankie working as a "stripper" (more go-go dancer in a bird cage as she never gets naked).
As the film proceeds, key emotional triggers spark seismic swings in Frankie's mood, hurtling her down memory lane to a series of traumas involving death, racism, young love, identity and soul-searing loss that have led her to dissociate from the pain by adopting alter personalities.Berry's believability during these on-camera transformations is near-magical - the shifts in her face, her voice and her mannerisms all specific and unerring, and without the crutches of makeup, wardrobe or special effects.
It is a performance that pulls you in at every moment yet you never pull out of your required film world state of disbelief.It is amusing to recall that this isn't the first time Berry has been called upon to play a character with multiple personalities.
In the braver independent film "Frankie and Alice," Halle takes the lessons scratched out of "Catwoman" and chisels a performance of far greater subtlety, depth and compassion.The supporting cast is excellent, particularly Stellan Skarsgard as the sympathetic "Dr. Oz" who with initial reluctance then heroic wholeheartedness helps Frankie heal and get to the bottom of her troubled mind.
Frankie and Alice was a film that came out in 2010 but for some reason didn't come out until a couple of years later.
If ever there were a reason to give Halle Berry another academy award, it would be for this film!
Especially when Halle's character Frankie revisits memories of her love life.
Halle's performance in Frankie and Alice is nothing short of amazing.
. which progressed to GOTHIKA in 2003, America's most self-flagellating actress--Halle Berry--deftly plays another psychiatric basket case in FRANKIE & ALICE.
I just love Halle and this movie.
This is one of those little films that didn't get much attention when it came out, but surely will be used to educate about multiple personality disorder or D.I.D.
(Dissociative Identity Disorder) in the future, if it's not already.Oscar winner Halle Berry gives a really interesting complex performance as the titular character(s), a go-go dancer in 1973, who after a couple run-ins with the law, ends up in a mental institute being treated by a psychoanalyst (Stellan Skarsgard), who thinks he may know what her problem is.