Losing Alice
Apple TV+ adds to its international slate with an Israeli psychological thriller series, Losing Alice, from acclaimed writer and director Sigal Avin. It stars Ayelet Zurer of Munich and Man of Steel fame as Alice, a movie director who has taken a break from the industry in order to raise her young children. Her husband, David (Gal Toren), is a successful actor and has continued to work while Alice stays at home.
However, Alice’s return to the movies occurs through a chance meeting with a fresh out of film school screenwriter, Sophie (Lihi Kornowski) who has written a compelling script that David is interested in playing one of the starring roles. Both Alice and David find themselves slowly beginning to become obsessed with Sophie - her past is dredged with tantalisingly scant and possibly dangerous details that can’t be ignored. The trio find themselves inexplicably linked together, with the contents of the screenplay and Sophie’s surrounding mysterious life forcing Alice to confront some dark and subdued issues.
From the very first episode it’s clear Avin is delighted to be able to play around with structure and form across eight whole episodes, through the use of flashbacks, flash forwards and realistic visions. Some of the tactics, including a classic film within a film narrative, seem to be leading in an obvious direction to begin with and there’s concern Avin is playing into a cliched storyline. However, these tactics often play out as red herrings - a distraction tool from the real essence of what is going on. Avin puts her own spin on these hackneyed story devices and finds a way to weave further and further doubt as the series progresses and, despite the fact the reveals happen slowly, there is serious deliberation behind each scene with each subsequent character confrontation feeling immensely rewarding.
A lot of the scenes play out through the point of view of Alice, with the large majority of these obviously being a way to progress the story. There are several moments where other characters take centre stage and they tend to offer an engaging break - in the fourth episode, we are given a chance to see Sophie through the eyes of an actress who is auditioning for the lead role of her movie. Sophie, in what becomes an apparent attempt of sabotage, goes out of her way to first woo this oblivious young actress and then intimidate and terrorise her in order to ruin the upcoming audition. This story not only offers a fresh perspective on this mysterious young writer who seems to have forced her way into Alice’s life, but drops a couple of tantalisingly juicy story bites that only the audience can see.
Kornowski is a revelation in this series. She manages to play the perfect and dangerous line between sexual seductress and volatile psychopath, serving as the true antagonistic force in the show, despite no real reason being given. Her air of distrust comes from Alice’s own fears; fears that Sophie is not afraid to play on.
Zurer as Alice is similarly great - she gets much more material to work with and is given the chance to play across a whole range of emotions and scenarios. Her best work comes in the penultimate episode in which she has to direct David and Sophie in an intensely intimate scene. Alice has to keep it professional on set, despite her true emotions, and it’s only until she steps outside after the shoot and cackles into the sky, that Zurer unloads Alice’s psyche in a disturbing moment.
Losing Alice is a slow burn thriller, one that isn’t afraid to gorge on every little detail it lets out. A stellar cast only adds fuel to the fire, and it results in an easily accessible show that is hard not to get engrossed in.