Cut
Episode 7 of Losing Alice begins with Sophie shooting her scenes with David. Alice stays in the Director seat, watching the scenes play out as she prepares for some of the more intimate moments between the pair. After, Alice heads into the main lobby of the hotel where she finds Lifschitz arriving. Their brief conversation rattles the Director, especially given Alice is starting to experience strange visions. Sophie eventually calls Alice into her room where she admits she’s having trouble with some of her scenes. Specifically the moments between Amir and Eleanor, which are pretty physical. Alice tells her to fly, encouraging the girl to give it her all. The scene then plays out, with Alice back in the Director seat while David and Sophie practice their moments together. Only, despite Alice’s encouraging words of wisdom, she’s undoubtedly uncomfortable at the prospect of the pair together. Alice heads back into the hotel room and speaks to David and Sophie, telling them they need to do this with less tension. Alice continues to cut the scene several times, as David eventually loses his temper and smashes a lamp. The night draws to an end and both David and Alice head home together. She apologizes to her husband for the ensuing tension that day on set, before the attention inevitably goes back to the scenes in question. David calls her out and mentions how she’s losing control. Their argument is interrupted by their next door neighbour Karen, who’s hysterical out in the garden. Numerous mice happen to be in the pool, which she interprets as a bad omen. Speaking of omens, Alice decides they should separate when David gets back from his run in the morning. She decides to stay at the hotel for now, eventually informing the family that she’s got a busy day of shooting ahead. Back on set things are tense. David struggles to control himself as Alice once again takes her seat and shoots the intimate scenes between Sophie and David. Their kissing soon turns to more as Alice lets the camera roll. The scene plays out in its entirety, as Alice watches this passionate, unnerving and ever-so-slightly aggressive scene play to its conclusion. When the shooting finishes, Alice heads out onto the balcony and starts laughing uncontrollably.
The Episode Review
Losing Alice returns this week with an entire episode revolving around a single intimate scene for Sophie’s screenplay. This pivotal moment essentially sees Alice lose control, as she lets go of David and becomes consumed in getting this scene right. The laughing at the end obviously signifies Alice’s mental state but it’s difficult to know whether she’s genuinely unsettled or whether she’s just laughing at the whole absurdity of the scene. Either way, it sets things up nicely for the finale, as it appears we’ll be coming full circle to the moments early on in the series. Losing Alice does have some stand out moments but it’s also full of drawn out segments and a story that feels like it could have been tightened up across less episodes too. Still, the ending certainly leaves things open for next week’s finale.
