Film Review: Halle Berry's Tour de Force, 'Frankie and Alice'

It goes without saying that Halle Berry is one of Hollywood's brightest stars and arguably one of the world's true beauties.  Those who argue whether or not she can truly act have never seen her work in 'Losing Isiah' or 'Monster's Ball'.

I've learned that Berry is only as good as the work she is given and rarely is she given meaty roles. She has an Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, most of which were won for her astounding portrayal of legend Dorothy Dandridge.

Not only can Halle act, but she can act her ass off. And she proves it once again in 'Frankie and Alice', a film she co-produced.

This long gestating film has been Berry's baby for quite some time. It sought distribution for some time before being given a short lived limited release, just wide enough to garner her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

'Frankie and Alice' is the story of a young woman living in 1970s Los Angeles who suffers from a multiple personality disorder.  Two distinctly different personalities.  There is Alice, who is a white, racist Southern woman and Genius, the young child with a genius IQ. In one shocking scene, she is engaged in foreplay with a man who happens to be Black when 'Alice' clicks in. She slaps his hands away and snarls, "Take your nigger hands off of me!" in one of the most convincing Southern drawls I've heard since Jessica Lange in 'American Horror Story'.

Stellan Skarsgard, who is always reliable, plays her quirky psychologist who fights to keep her admitted against the will of the hospital board, in order to help her.  Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad and Emmy winner, Chandra Wilson, play Frankie's mother and sister, respectively, and are horribly underused.

Berry has not only proven that she deserves her Best Actress Oscar, but that if Black actresses want good roles, they'll have to get involved in the process of creating them for themselves.