User reviews

I find it hard to believe that this film could not find a distributor and stayed in a holding cell for four years. 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. As with all split personality films there is always some tragic event that occurs in the early years of life that fosters personalities to protect the host. This film was set in the 1970s and I have to say the wardrobe and locations were pretty accurate (from what I can remember). I even found myself singing along with some of the music. The fact that a straight-jacket and hypnosis was going to be involved was a no-brainer. The constant flashbacks also did not come as a surprise, but I think that the way that Halle managed those scenes is what made them memorable. Stellan Skarsgard (Oz) is the physician who takes a personal interest in Frankie's case and is responsible for getting to the heart of the issues. Phylicia Rashad (Edna) and Chandra Wilson (Maxine) are Frankie's mother and sister who are either in denial or assisting in a cover-up, or both. It was refreshing to see a film that wasn't tethered with CGI. It's kind of rare these days. Do I think that this film could have been shown on Lifetime…., sure, but I'm glad that it wasn't. The reason why is because anytime you can get a film on the big screen that contains a decent amount of diversity of actors (that isn't about slavery or servitude) then I'm all for it (I'll get off my soapbox now). The story held my attention and there were no areas of lag time. Of course I was trying to figure out what caused the personality split from the beginning. I have to say that this one kept me guessing until the end. 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. I concur.

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. Halle plays a stripper named Frankie whose little mood swings have all but frightened the crap out of her coworkers and boss. 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. As the movie rolls along we find out that their is a lot of history that inspired Frankie to take on these alter persona's and can be triggered by something as simple as a song on the radio. 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. This is the second time that Ms. Berry has been on screen as an exotic dancer, she was less memorable in that short lived role in The Last Boyscout. 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. We find out however, through her erratic behavior it is revealed that she is not as well put together as she first seems. 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). I would love to see Mr. Skarsgard step outside of his character, he has this Zoolander approach to acting, no matter what persona he is portraying it's always the same look. Ms. Berry on the other hand was on point she was emotionally engaging, showing a range that was both compelling and evoked compassion for what her character had endured. Her personality was splintered; her experiences caused her coping mechanisms into overdrive. Halle Berry proves that the title of 'Oscar winner' is well deserved. 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). I enjoyed this story because it was interesting and not a new construct, it was nice to see the bad guy in the usual places, but to find a completely unexpected bad guy in this film was bittersweet. The first half hour or so became a bit annoying with all the jumping around, but not enough to reduce the entertainment value.

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 would say superb acting, especially how she did the different personages.

I would say this movie is above average. this movie received very bad reviews from critics, I don't understand why they rate it that bad.I would say excellent incredible acting, especially how she did the different personages.

I would say see the movie for your self, then draw your conclusions before putting a negative rating.

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. "Frankie and Alice" is a very good drama that creates much empathy and resonance.

Sometimes it's easy to dismiss things or take them for granted. Watching Halle Berry, the ageless one, performing here is a treat. And it's a big obstacle she has to overcome. Because she could have easily drifted into ridiculous with her portrayal. Unknowingly so, especially if the director wouldn't have noticed either.

But playing it the way she does, you believe her and all the sudden changes she goes through. It helps having Stellan at her side. It's also nice to see the wife of the Cosby show in this, even in a small role like this. The movie/story itself is based on a true story, but don't be put off by that. It was a story worth being told

Don't be swayed by the negative reviews. I knew nothing about this film before I watched it. Afterward I thought it had been nominated for a bunch of awards. I can't believe it didn't get any nominations, and even got negative reviews from some critics. I'm not sure if this one makes it into my top 10 for the year, but it's definitely in my top 20.

Sure, the subject matter has been covered before, but that shouldn't matter. So has divorce, bank robberies, and most recently, the death of a child. Just because a subject has been covered before in a film doesn't mean the film should be dismissed.

I thought this movie was way better than Rabbit Hole. While Rabbit Hole gets all the recognition, Frankie and Alice gets ignored. I'm not even any sort of huge Halle Berry fanatic. I just know a good movie when I see one and it makes me angry when good films are ignored.

Great acting by Halle Barry. The only thing keeping this from being a 10, for me, is that it misleads people as to the cause of Dissociative Identity Disorders. DID is caused by severe abuse at an extremely early age, generally before the age of 5. It becomes a coping mechanism that is used later in life when further trauma is experienced. Likely that is what happened and the early years of Frankie's life were simply left out of the story. An explanation should have been added.

Frankie (Halle Berry) is a stripper with multiple personality disorder in 1970s. After an incident, she seeks help from Dr. Oz (Stellan Skarsgård). She lives with her mother Edna Murdoch (Phylicia Rashad) and sister Maxine (Chandra Wilson). She is haunted by memories and forgotten traumas. She disrupts Paige Prescott's wedding and gets thrown in jail. She gets Dr. Oz to evaluate her. She starts to remember her work as the Prescotts' maid and an illicit affair with Paige's brother.

This is built for Halle Berry to do some acting work but it isn't much more than that. The secret memories aren't that compelling. It becomes one acting scene from Halle to another. There is an intriguing white racist personality which digs a little deeper and is something different. The story has no drive and no tension.

We enjoyed the movie and acting of the beautiful and talented Ms Berry. The quality cast gave additional strong support.

After viewing the movie I tried to find more about the primary characters, Francine L. Murdoch (Frankie) and Psychiatrist Joseph Oswald (noted as now deceased in the movie). I found nothing. Just quotes from the original film source disseminated on various sites. No interviews with Frankie, no photos, no publications by Dr. Oswald, no autobiographies or biographies. Nothing.

In her interviews for the film Ms. Berry also appears to offer conflicting information about her actual interactions with Frankie...

1. NPR Interview (December 31, 2010): Ms. BERRY: "I did meet the real Frankie and Alice, but I didn't meet her until after the process was over. We talked to her, and our writers interviewed her, but the real Frankie didn't remember much as the movie will suggest. So my research was more reading books on the subject. And I actually met a doctor that was willing to answer all of my questions, and he actually allowed me to see hours and hours of real tape of real patients in the therapeutic process going through all of their multiples and struggling with bringing them all together..."

2. 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. She was my greatest source of information and inspiration; I wanted to protect her and her story. I wanted to understand and portray her stories of frustration and fear. I felt responsible for making sure that these stories were addressed in the movie. 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. And finally, Dr. Oz, her doctor, had transcripts as well that spoke to his feelings. I was able to secure some videotapes of health care providers who have worked with and helped people with DID in their recovery."

So, what is the real story? Hopefully someone with more resources will discover the real Frankie Murdock or Dr. Joseph Oswald. This would be the perfect follow up to a brave and inspiring film

Geoffrey Sax's 'Frankie and Alice' initially an to an extent follows a similar narrative structure to Nunnally Johnson's 'The Three Faces of Eve'. 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. 'Frankie and Alice' isn't that different from the aforementioned films. I liked how Sax presents the 70s setting and how he captures the culture of that time period without going over the top. 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. The best scenes are the interactions between her and Dr. Oz. Halle Berry makes a memorable comeback to films after a three year break. She is spellbinding in all three avatars and that too without having to rely on mimicry and makeup. Stellan Skarsgård is equally good in a subtle role. 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.

Well dramatized and acted portrayal of a person afflicted by a conversion reaction with multiple personalities. Haile Berry does a. Good job of acting.

"Treatment is indefinite and integration is only beginning. The ultimate goal is acceptance." Frankie (Berry) is a go-go dancer with multiple personalities who is trying to straighten out her life. When things become dangerous for her she is taken to a hospital where she meets Oz (Skarsgård), a psychotherapist who tries to help her. He meets all of her personalities and talks with each of them in order to find out Frankie's past and what caused this problem. This is based on a true story. 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. Even when she won the Oscar for Monster's Ball I didn't think she deserved it, to me all she did was get naked and cry for a few hours, that doesn't impress me. That said, if I were to give her an award it would be for this one. She plays the different personalities so convincing and different that you believe she has this problem. 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. I give this a B.

Review: I quite enjoyed this interesting movie about a woman who has multiple personalities. One minute she's a stripper in a club who takes drugs and enjoys partying, then the next minute she is a intelligent Southern woman whose a white racist, even though she is black. 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. As the movie is based around the 70's, they didn't have the different methods of dealing with this kind of illness so a lot of people just put it down to her being crazy. It didn't help that her main personality, Frankie, was a party animal and she smoked dope, but when she finally faces her problems, with the help of her doctor, they finally work out that her many personalities are down to an episode in her past. 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. The acting is top form from Hallen Berry and the chemistry between doctor and patient is brilliant. I did have a problem with the way that Berry switched into her different personalities because it seemed to happened out of the blue, but that's just me being picky. Anyway, I personally think that it deserved more money at the box office because of the effort that was put it from the actors and the emotional storyline. 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. From the strange Cloud Atlas and the terrible Dark Tide and Catwoman, her career has been really gone downhill lately. Her saving grace has to be the role as Storm in the X-Men movies and she has now turned to TV with the series Extant which has got mixed reviews. At the age of 48, she still looks great but she really has to think before she picks her next roles. Stellan Skarsgard seems to be making the right choices as the professor in the Avengers and Thor franchise and he has also put in great performances in the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the Nyphomaniac movies. Together they both worked well in this film but its another one of those movies that didn't get a big cash injection from the studio. 

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $700,000

I 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. 6/10

"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. The director is Geoffrey Sax. The screenplay is by Cheryl Edwards and Marko King. Halle Berry is Frankie, the afflicted woman. The rest of the cast includes Stellan Skarsgarrd, Phylicia Rashad, Chandra Wilson, Alex Diakun, Joanne Baron, Brian Markinson, Matt Frewer, Rosalyn Coleman, Sean Tyson, Melainie Papalia, Kira Clavell, Joey Bothwell, Adrian Holmes, James Kirk, Kennedy Goodkey, Andrew Francis, Vanessa Morgan, Michayla McKenzie and Megan Charpentier. The story revolves around the inner conflicts of Frankie's other selves and uses hypnosis to dig deep into her youth to find the answers. I gave this film a score of 6. Dale Haufrect

A great film and great acting in both lead roles. Must say halle berry is simply great!!! give this a watch and be surprised!!! I have no idea why this never won any awards. Its nothing like the film Sybil, that everyone thinks about when it comes to MPD.

Halle Berry is Frankie, a dancer in a club. It's a rough life, but she's got a secret. She starts to realize that to get through it, her mind has created muliple personalities. One is an old, religious woman, who is screwing up Frankie's life when she is present. Chandra Wilson is her sister, Maxine. In Sybil, Sally FIeld portrayed a woman with sixteen personalities, back in 1976. In Frankie, the doctor comes to realize that she may have been traumatized, causing this reaction. And then the wild ride begins... directed by brit Geoffrey Sax. It's pretty good. Berry had won for Monster Ball, at the 2002 oscars.

First of all, let me assure you that I have absolutely no financial ties to this movie. That being said, let me tell you that I do now have a PSYCHOLOGICAL tie to this movie. By now, you know that this is a split- personality movie. Joanne Woodward won an Oscar for "Three Faces of Eve"; Sally Field won an Emmy for "Sybil". HALLE BERRY IS BETTER!!! Watch her performance, and, without CGI or special effects, you'll see her change from an "exotic dancer (ie: stripper)", to a racist, to a little girl. You'll be sucked in to the story. Then you'll be on the edge of your seat with tears in your eyes when, at the end, the terrible crisis from her youth is starkly revealed. And yet, the written epilogue just before the closing credits is uplifting and hopeful. If EVER there was a "must-see" movie, THIS IS IT!!

Not tremendous not bad above average for certain. 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.

'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. It co-stars Stellan Skarsgard and Phylicia Rashad (a grade school crush of mine). It's written by a group of 7 writers (which is almost never a good sign), most of which have little to no experience, and directed by Geoffrey Sax (who's most notable film credits are directing the mediocre horror film 'WHITE NOISE' and the failed kids film 'ALEX RIDER: OPERATION STORMBREAKER'). The film was marketed as a possible Oscar contender but received no recognition whatsoever and got horrible reviews. 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. As the viewer early on finds out, but she is unaware of, she suffers from 'dissociative identity disorder'. 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. After a couple accidents involving the other personalities while blacked out she turns to a psychiatrist (Skarsgard) for help. 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). The film received a 15 percent approval rating from critics (the average rating being 4.3 out of 10) on Rottentomatoes and a 5.6 (out of 10) user rating on IMDb by fans. I think the ingredients were there to make a good film but the director wasn't the right choice for this type of material and having so many writers almost never turns out too good. 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. She's definitely good in the right role (as well as her Oscar winning role) but here she was either wrongfully cast or wrongfully motivated. The film as a whole has good production values and is nice to look at but the story is clichéd and uneventful. The characters aren't really involving either, which I think is probably a lot to do with the over blown screenplay. Still it's not a bad film and I enjoyed watching it to a certain extent, it's just nothing special either.

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