Alice, Darling, a new film starring Anna Kendrick as the lead, is playing in theaters now. The film addresses relationship violence, a theme that has had Kendrick talking openly about her experience with toxic relationships while on the film’s press rounds. Kendrick gave the film credit before, saying it helped her normalize her experience with abusive relationships. However, being open about the topic made the press even more interested. Kendrick recently reflected on her decision to be sincere about her life experiences. She recalled feeling “shitty” after several interviews that addressed the topic. The actress stated:

“People have asked me, `Was it challenging to shoot the movie?’ and I guess that question make sense…but I’m actually finding that the press is the thing that has been a little trickier to navigate, making sure that I’m ok and feeling safe in my body”

“I totally get it’s no journalist’s job to show up for me in the same headspace that I’m in, but I’m trying really hard to go into these conversations really open, and it feels kind of strange to be talking to somebody who clearly just has a million things to do that day… I was like, ‘Oh, I need to draw a boundary there”

Alice, Darling is the directorial feature debut of Mary Nighy, the director has previous acting credits in Marie Antoinette (2006) and Tormented (2009). As a director, she has worked previously on TV shows such as Industry (2020) . The film was written by Alanna Francis.

Alice, Darling is a psychological thriller that tells the story of a young woman named Alice who is confronted by her closest friends about her abusive relationship while on a trip. They organize an intervention to make her re-evaluate her connection to a breaking point. The feature had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film festival and gained positive reviews, especially about Kendrick’s role.

Alice, Darling is available in theaters now.