Access Motion Pictures, F & A Production Services, Reality Pictures In Motion,
Halle Berry, Stellan Skarsgård, Phylicia Rashad, Chandra Wilson, Rosalyn Coleman, Joanne Baron, Brian Markinson, Matt Frewer
Frankie (Halle Berry) is a stripper, coarse and with many rough edges who lives with her sister (Chandra Wilson) and mother (Phylicia Rashad). But Frankie gets in a bit of trouble when she shows up at an old friend’s wedding as a fancy and refined white woman named Alice who is Frankie’s split personality. She ends up in another mental institution and is being treated by a former teacher, doctor OZ (Stellan Skarsgard) who sincerely wants to get to the bottom of Frankie’s multiple personality disorder. He is able to reach into her past to find an awful event that cause her personality to split and leads her down the path of possible eventual recovery.
This is what I laughingly called the “Black Sybil”. But Halle Berry really puts her heart in to this role and did an exceptional job of playing the girl with this kind of illness. Stellan Skarsgard is also extremely good as the psychiatrist who is trying to get to the root of the problem. It’s a very well done film, and was almost completely overlooked when this came out. That’s too bad as it’s a stunningly good solid film with a lot of heart and a lot to say. The story is extremely well crafted, and it is very well made. Like most of these “Hidden Gems” that are out there on DVD and streaming, it’s often overlooked and that’s too bad as it has a lot to offer. Especially if you’re a Halle Berry fan, you shouldn’t miss this film as it’s a riveting story through the kinds of problems few of us have to face in our lives. I would recommend this one when you have a chance to catch it. It’s well worth it.
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