Alexandra's Project (2003)

The movie is engaging but the premise doesn't deliver anything a 'F-you, I'm leaving' letter, couldn't do much more easily. If the husband had been created as a horrible person his wife might be justified in going to such extremes but he's really not that bad. He doesn't seem to be guilty of anything other than neglect (in her mind), 'not listening' and 'maybe' an affair. He doesn't beat her or even mistreat her in the conventional way of looking at things. I don't even know what the grounds for divorce would be. I thought the movie was headed toward him understanding his mistakes and trying to be a better person. He is never given that chance. Instead he is just told how much he sucks through the entire movie and then it ends. The idea that a security consultant wouldn't be able to find his runaway wife who essentially kidnapped their two children (who would be bitching within the first couple of weeks that their father, who they seem to love, is not with them) is ludicrous. If he couldn't find them with his own resources he could turn the case over to the police. She KIDNAPPED his CHILDREN!!! This is a classic case of a writer getting in over his head and not being able to successfully resolve the premise he's created. Instead we're subjected to a one-sided non-stop complaining with no 3rd act and nothing like a meaningful resolution in sight. This should've been solved on the page before it made it to the screen. Overall, well acted and directed but as unsatisfying as Alexandra seems to think their marriage is.

Male fear. This movie hits sensitive spots. It's hard to give a number out of 10 to, because my gut says 1, but my brain says "That's exactly what it wanted to hear." All the technicals are fine, but the draw in this film is the message. As a man, I found it hard to sit through. There is condemnation here, the villain is unclear, and everything in the end is muddled. This is a movie that provokes very strong feelings, and whether or not you agree with what the characters say, you have to admit it does poke a scalpel into some vulnerable parts, as it applies to men and women.This movie is a seat-squirmer. It is talk-heavy, and there is plenty to nod along to or shake your fist at.

Alexandra's project 1s a film that is totally unpleasant to watch, like Funny Games, with little satisfaction granted the viewer at the end. One day after being promoted at work on his birthday, Alexandra's husband comes home expecting to have a surprise party with his wife and kids, and instead encounters an empty home and a video left by her, which starts out like a gift, then a tease, and finally a long and calculated torture porn exercise of revenge for his being clueless as to her misery for much if not all of their married life, and for seeing her as a sex toy and not for her inner self. Older films like "Enough", at least gave the viewer the framework and purpose for the vicious revenge planned and executed. But Alexandra's revenge, while so extreme as to be sick, actually winds up engendering sympathy for her husband, who while clueless, was basically a decent guy. Like some women, Alexandra expects her husband to know what she wants and why she is miserable without actually telling him. So this movie becomes a psychotic rant with pornographic overtones that is so disturbing to watch that it ultimately seems to drag rather than be suspenseful. If I only considered the performances, I might have rated the film as high as a 5, but I can't remember seeing another film that was so completely unsatisfying to watch in the last 20 years, and I am 71. When I was a child, sometimes my mother would bawl me out for not helping her do something, when she didn't ask me in the first place. When I would ask her why she didn't tell me she needed help she would say "I shouldn't have to ask. You should know I needed your help". So I was in trouble for something I had no idea I had or hadn't done. This film is an extreme example of that concept gone completely mad. Awful!

After watching this movie, I read reviews here that were very tough on Alexandra. I was two (I'm male), but upon rewatching the early scenes, I realized I missed some important clues, many of which I haven't seen in a lot of the reviews.1) Steve is clearly a sex addict. His marital behavior indicates that, as does the brief scene in a cafe with a young woman. While he did not beat Alexandra, he was pretty tough on her, and I question whether she had organisms. As I considered this, I felt more sympathy for Alexandra. 2) The symbolism of the scene where he fast-forwards through her speech on the tape is obvious in the sense that he didn't care to hear what she said. But some commented that he did not know how she felt. Perhaps he did. Perhaps she had told him, he didn't want to hear it then, and he doesn't now. 3) I believe the items in the drawer had to do with passports. Note then that as the taxi with the kids pulled away, Alexandra said good-bye with finality. I don't think she was joining those kids. The neighbor sounded German. Perhaps he arranged for them to be sent to Germany. Obviously, if she joined the kids, it's likely that somewhere along the line the kids would give away what happened. This is still a plot concern, but not as much if she never joins them. 4) The shower scene makes it pretty clear that she hates what she's doing and/or is about to do. On several levels, possibly. Her expressions make this clear, as well. It reinforces my thought that she never expect to see her kids again. It may even reflect on what she may be expecting in the future--perhaps even on the failure of her marriage. 5) On the other hand, it's hard to see how she got away with being a prostitute in that housing complex with men coming and going all day. 6) I agree that it's hard to believe Steve could be so crushed as not to call the police. Unless he has had some issue with them over his sex addiction (nothing indicated, though). 7) The cancer scene was effective, but superfluous. 8) It does seem hard to believe the kids were so well adjusted and never picked up on the tensions. All told, I'm not sure Alexandra was crazy so much as simply fed up and consumed with hatred over what she had become because of her marriage. As I said, I had more sympathy for her after rewatching the early scenes. Taking pride in being a prostitute, which she did to some extent, is not a great way to live or value oneself.