To begin with, Alanna Francis didn’t understand why her friends didn’t like her new boyfriend. To her, it had been a flurry of love – they had met in New York and fallen for each other quickly, moving in together in a matter of weeks. Francis, who was in her twenties, had been overcoming another heartbreak at the time, but now there was someone there, “telling me how wonderful I was, how interested in me he was”.
“Right away it was intense,” she explains, but then, she was intensely happy. Intensely loved. “I didn’t notice it was happening at all.”
The signs that she was being psychologically abused were subtle, almost completely hidden – until they weren’t. For a long time, she simply internalised the warnings. Her friends’ instant wariness of her new relationship “was a reflection on me”, she thought, “that I’d chosen someone ‘wrong’. Then he wanted to know where I was all the time; he was checking my emails. Things started to get worse and worse – he was becoming controlling.”
Bit by bit Francis, started to withdraw. She was no longer able to talk to her close group of girl friends; she saw them less and less. It wasn’t long before she found herself completely isolated, as her friends were left worried about what to do. Her experience inspired her acclaimed film Alice, Darling, which was released in 2022, starring Anna Kendrick. The film was praised by viewers as a sharp, pertinent example of the very internal experience of coercive control and its insidious nature.
The psychological thriller sees Alice’s distress slowly unfold as her boyfriend, Simon, pushes her to breaking point. On the surface, their relationship could be mistaken for loving – his constant “concern” for her whereabouts; physically draping himself over her in public; his reminders that “No one loves you the way I do.”
Denne historien er fra October 21, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 21, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Why Is Starmer So Against An EU Youth Travel Scheme?
The prime minister has once again been urged to agree to a limited scheme to allow young people to travel freely between the UK and the EU for the purposes of work or study, and has once again signalled his refusal to consider it.
Why home advantage has lost its sting in Test series.
“The tour is only a matter of hours old, but the wry thought occurs to me that reputations will almost certainly be destroyed in the next few months.”
North can't compete with south's individual X factor
Ex-Lions captain Sam Warburton has a theory why southern hemisphere teams have dominated the autumn internationals
Aimless Villa stagger to bore draw against Juventus
Aston Villa and Unai Emery have run out of ideas, far too early in the Spaniard’s previously exhilarating revolution.
Reds humble Real and Slot does what Klopp could not
A few weeks ago, it was possible to look at Arne Slot’s seemingly impressive start at Liverpool, adopt a sceptical tone and ask who they had really beaten.
Vauxhall's closure shows No 10 must recharge EV rules
Electric vehicles aren't selling in the volume anticipated and James Moore says government is right to order a swift review
Nationwide banks £2bn in takeover of Virgin Money
Nationwide has gained £2.3bn following its acquisition of Virgin Money, according to the firm’s half-year results.
Red Sea boat survivors were trapped in cabins, says diver
Two Britons who were on the yacht remain unaccounted for
Record snowfall leaves Seoul scrambling to cope
Transport chaos and power cuts hit city as two die on roads
Myanmar junta chief faces crimes against humanity charge for Rohingya deaths
Arrest warrant requested by International Criminal Court
