- Network: Prime Video
- Series Premiere Date: Aug 4, 2023
Critic Reviews
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This series will not be for everyone, given its numerous, crushingly brutal scenes of domestic abuse and the devastating consequences of such pure evil actions. Still, by the time we reach the finale and one of the most moving closing sequences of any series this year, “Alice Hart” has earned its place as an important and inspirational story of female empowerment and the incredibly resilient nature of women who have endured so much and yet refuse to let anyone dim their shining light.
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The mood is melancholic, redoubled by long, drawn-out notes from the strings and minor-key piano arpeggios; passages of happiness feel fragile, fleeting, untrustworthy. In the end, though — or perhaps because — it does not spare the melodrama, I found it quite moving.
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Coupled with stunningly atmospheric direction and cinematography from Glendyn Ivin and Sam Chiplin, and a score that captures both the beauty and the pain that makes up the lives of the women on-screen, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart sweeps you up in its arms and never lets you go.
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Weaver is surrounded by strong performances, nicely interconnected story lines, and expanses of natural beauty; nonetheless, the miniseries belongs to her.
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“Lost Flowers” is a reminder that when it is handled with skill, sophistication and a measure of restraint, melodrama can be as satisfying as any other style of storytelling.
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It truly does feel like there’s a great 130-minute-or-so movie in this story. But that version would admittedly lose the show’s accumulation of small joys and how the writers let these excellent performers live in these roles instead of just running in and out of the spotlight.
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Across seven episodes, June’s intricate web of deceit begins to unravel, but even for those who have not read the source material, the seeds are all planted early enough that the occasionally soapy plot twists, which are part of the novel’s appeal, still feel earned and thoughtfully constructed.
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The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart is a portrayal of domestic abuse that starts out a bit obtuse, but given the intense subject matter, that obtuseness is an effective way to bring people into Alice’s story.
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Despite its fundamental issues, Alice Hart deserves more than the casual dismissal it’ll likely receive while buried on Prime Video. Like June’s flowers that spell out heartfelt messages without words, the series is able to tap into a secret but deeply expressive language that, if arranged in the exact right way, can pierce the heart of you.
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In a strong cast (including Asher Keddie and Leah Purcell), Weaver gives a stellar performance as the battling June, trying to fend off monsters in the real world and ghosts in all the others. If you can take the stubbornly leaden pace, this is worth your time.
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The Lost Flowers feels like a careful arrangement tied with the right ribbon and delivered with the best intentions. But you might prefer a few living blooms instead.
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It all unfolds very beautifully, if sometimes slowly, interleaved by the odd clunky chunk of exposition.
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The longer it goes, as it stretches out further in time and place, the more it loses sight of the strengths of its characters as a result. There is a care to each of the performances that is undercut by the way it is all stitched together, making individual pieces and scenes where we are seeing the characters grow into too much of a rarity.
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The story is metaphors on top of metaphors on top of metaphors as it explores the generational legacy of abuse, but its thin overall narrative and especially its supporting characters frequently get lost in the effort to visualize those metaphors.
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The series is both frustratingly convoluted and, at times, quite emotionally stirring. But the former clouds the latter, and graceful performances from Weaver and Debnam-Carey aren’t enough to keep The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart from wilting under the weight of its own ambition.
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“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” wants to shed light on the lived experience of gendered abuse, and in that attempt, showrunner Sarah Lambert and director Glendyn Ivin employ some powerful imagery and performances. But the show too often heightens itself into melodrama, the opposite of the realism and sensitivity called for by its subject matter.
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It may be the fault of the intensely earnest acting and the overly ominous music, but everything, as this is being written, feels like a spoiler—not just the relationships between the characters, but the meaning of the title. .... [Alice] might not want to hang around till harvest time, though. And neither might we.