Frankie & Alice

Frankie & Alice feels like a film that might have been groundbreaking 40 years ago but has cable-TV movie of the week written all over it in 2014.

Berry has proven she's willing to take on enormous challenges, and she certainly exceeds her grasp here. Perhaps that's why Frankie & Alice plays more like an elaborate acting workshop than a movie.

While all this channel-switching and inevitable unearthing of psychic demons generates a great awards-season clip, it doesn't necessarily lead to a satisfying drama.

It may be that this genre has been forever ruined, or just that it requires a more subtle hand than the one exhibited by Geoffrey Sax, the director here.

Lamentably by-the-numbers, treated like an affliction-of-the-week TV movie by its eight (!) credited writers and directed by Geoffrey Sax as if he knew where commercials should go.

It's hard to see beyond Berry's forced mannerisms. She swerves from boogie-dancing tough girl to stoic matron to irritatingly voiced kid.

Frankie and Alice is a buffet of character study for Ms. Berry to sink her teeth into, which is exactly what she does with gusto and conviction

Modestly engaging, the film is more suited to cable TV and Netflix.

... provides Berry with a diva showcase for plenty of over-the-top emotional outbursts and violent tantrums.

Admittedly a generously apportioned slice of awards-bait pie, but a well-rendered and engaging psychological drama nonetheless, anchored by two solid performances.