Ellen Burstyn as Alice Hyatt in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Best Actress at the 47th Annual Oscars (1974)

Notable Quote:

“I’m gonna kill myself before this day is over.”

Synopsis:

Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn) is a harried housewife when her dickbag husband dies in a car accident and she has to figure out how to get a job, parent her son, and navigate the world on her own. *cues up Single Ladies*

The character:

While hunting for work as a lounge singer, some manager asks Alice Hyatt to spin around so he can take a look at her and she retorts, “Well, look at my face. I don't sing with my ass.” If that isn’t enough to make you love her … actually, that’s okay, because even beyond the snark, Alice is wonderful. As a newly single mom with no particular skills or prospects (she’s supposedly a singer, but umm, to my ears, that’s not one of her strong suits), she’s in a tough situation. But instead of being some tragic, put-upon figure, Alice’s development is more realistic: she struggles, but she isn’t miserable. Her biggest battle is figuring out what she wants, and there’s the interesting realization that she hasn’t had to decide for so long because of her marriage – and in some ways, she liked not having to make decisions about her life.

Alice’s relationship with her son Tommy is perhaps the central part of her character – and again, it’s a realistic portrayal of motherhood. On one hand, Alice clearly loves Tommy with all her heart. He’s a strange, smart-alecky kid, and she’s able to goof around with him on his own level. There’s a moment where they have a huge water fight in their apartment, and where a finicky parent might have been upset about everything getting wet, Alice rolls with it.

 But she also has some major parental shortcomings. She tends to play the martyr anytime Tommy (reasonably!) expresses worries about their future, ranting about how hard she’s working, rather than just listening to his fears. And she could benefit from taking a parenting class on discipline – poor follow-through! She’s always threatening to like, toss Tommy out of the car if he gets lippy.

Overall (and despite all my words here), I like Alice because she’s not actually someone that requires a particularly deep analysis: she’s a pretty straightforward, regular woman, and the beauty of this film is that it shows us how special that can be.

The performance:

Ellen Burstyn has a plain way about her, which feels like a backhanded compliment, but I mean it kindly: she seems like someone who could be your neighbor, and puts that quality to great use in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. I have nothing but praise for Burstyn’s performance in this film. First, her amazing rapport with the actor playing Tommy is at the center of the movie’s success: even when she’s snappy or angry with him, she still projects such warmth. It’s a warmth that Burstyn brings to the totality of the performance, so that we’re always on Alice’s side, even when she’s making another bad choice in men, or pouting about her job.

It also helps that Burstyn is really funny, especially in her non-verbal expressions. There’s a gag where Tommy insists on explaining and re-explaining a joke about gorilla nuts that his mother just doesn’t get, and Burstyn really looks like she’s about to lose it with frustration. Alice also occasionally jokes in a posh accent, and Burstyn nails it: it’s not that she’s just a comedic character on screen, Alice genuinely seems like a funny person to be around. And the comedic performance is rounded out by genuinely good emotional moments. It’s yet another film in this column that completely relies on the lead actress’s performance, and Burstyn is up for the challenge.

The movie:

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore is a shaggy but extremely charming comedy: it’s got dramatic moments, but it’s absolutely the funniest movie I’ve watched for the column so far. Bizarrely, it inspired a long-running sitcom, Alice, and I know I just said it was hilarious but I have no idea who watched this movie and somehow thought, this would make a great sitcom. It’s also a fascinating entry in Scorsese’s canon, especially given how female-centric it is. It’s actually extremely feminist, in tackling the fairly mundane concerns of an everyday woman with empathy and significance. And we get supporting appearances from Harvey Keitel, a young Jodie Foster, and Alfred Lutter as Tommy. If you haven’t seen this movie, I recommend getting a hold of it!

Was the Oscar deserved?

Definitely, Burstyn is excellent.