A review: Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland takes place in Victorian England; a very fitting backdrop for the free spirited and determined Alice (Mia Wasikowska) who wants something more out of life than to simply conform to society's strict rules for the perfect behavior and appearance. Ever since she was a little girl, she's felt different. She's had dreams of the strange "Wonderland" every night and even though her father has done his best to convince her that they are just dreams, Alice doesn't hesitate to follow the white rabbit when it does show up in real life one day. Falling down the rabbit hole, it turns out Alice's father was very wrong. Wonderland IS a real place; a dictatorship where the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) rules mercilessly. To aid her, she has the monstrous Jabberwocky. If, however, Alice fights the Jabberwocky.. the people will rise up agains the queen's tyranny once and for all.

The first half of this film consists of both undefined characters and surroundings. There are no real connections made between us as viewers and the myriad of characters that we're hastily presented with. And even though them turning into background actors might help the movie feel even more surrealistic and dreamlike, it doesn't help the overall plot. If the Jabberwocky indeed threatens the population, I want to care for the population! Otherwise I won't root for Alice to kill it. And it's hard to care for the people of Wonderland when you don't know the people. This is why, when Alice meets the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), there's finally a character besides her to sympathize with and care for.

Maybe because she's convinced that she's in her dream, this Alice is completely fearless and wholeheartedly goes after what she wants. Even if she's afraid to do it! After discovering Wonderland's realness, she keeps on going with her gut anyway, making all the decisions and bowing down to no one. The "my path is the right one and no one can tell me otherwise"-thinking is a trait that I feel normally would have been ascribed to a male character (or as Alice puts it: 'I'll decide where it goes from here.'). That's why I feel that Alice is not just a new female warrior to add to the list but one with a fresh point of view as well. And so, for me, she becomes the entire reason to watch this movie.

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Used with permission.