Halle lends her talents to the African American Mental Health Movement
Halle Berry’s film, “Frankie & Alice”, depicting the true story of a troubled young black woman suffering with multiple personalities will be released in select theaters today.
A midst discussion on why the film is just now being released; “Frankie & Alice” which was filmed in 2008, screened in 2010 (Halle was nominated for a Golden Globe for the film in 2010) the film is finally making its way to the big screen with the help of Codeblack Entertainment, a division of Liongate that focuses specifically on producing and distributing films associated with black talent. The film is based in LA during the early 1970s, as Halle playing Frankie, a young go-go dancer whose troubled actions, many of which she cannot recall, are greatly affecting her life in all aspects. Frankie’s dissociative personalities include Alice, a middle aged, racists white woman, and seven-year old little girl named “Genius”. Frankie finally lands in an inpatient facility after she hauntingly runs into traffic nearly killing herself. To gain control over her life and personalities Frankie begin to work with a psychotherapist, Dr. Oz, played by Stellan Skargard. The film depicts flashbacks as Dr. Oz and Frankie’s work through her troubled childhood to resolve the split of her personalities.
This film is extremely timely with the recent attention and movement toward increased focus on minority mental health, specifically African American mental health. Despite, the fact that many reviews were not favorable citing that films depicting multiple personalities are always difficult for audiences to be drawn into with comical portrayals outweighing serious/true portrays such as this, Frankie & Alice is a must see if only to show support for the black film and the movement toward bringing mental health and mental illness out of the shadows in the black community and giving mental health the attention it deserves to ensure less African American suffer from mental health issues.
