THE ALICE PARADOX
****
Directed by William Brooke.
Starring Jessica Kinsey, Gwithian Evans, Jeffery Kissoon and Madeline Smith.
Sci-Fi, United Kingdom, Certificate TBC, 90 minutes.
Reviewed as part of Tubi FrightFest 2026
When brilliant and ambitious physicist Alicia Narcissi has her big breakthrough project terminated by her university, she and colleague Bob Echo take matters into their own hands. They ‘borrow’ the necessary equipment from their lab and run what they understand to be a time travel experiment, by themselves. But when Alice steps into the wormhole that they create, she is forced to reassess her beliefs about the universe and her own place in it.
THE ALICE PARADOX is huge in scope, tackling weighty themes like the nature of space and time, political structures and the conditions they create for scientific advancement, and at the same time funnelling right down to the issues of individualism, free will and personal happiness.
If this makes the movie sound worthy and dull, don’t worry, it’s not. It’s mesmerising and touching, clever and packed with meaningful detail. It sent me on a very satisfying research bender and I’m now far more clued-up on classical mythology, philosophy, mushroom-based pharmaceuticals and Watcha Clan.
I wish I could say that I also now understand the quantum mechanics that underpin the premise, but I do not and I imagine most viewers won’t either. Luckily, we don’t need to. Director William Brooke was a physicist, so we can just squint at all the formulae, admire how clever Alice and Bob are, and relax, knowing we’re in good hands.
These enormous themes are carried by a very small cast. Without giving plot details away, I can say is that much is asked of lead actor Jessica Kinsey in terms of range, and she absolutely delivers. Gwithian Evans, as Bob, is also excellent, his acting so restrained and believable that it’ll be a shock to see him in anything else and realise that he isn’t actually a gentle, lovestruck scientist.
The cinematography is as complex and meaningful as the story, with camera angles and lighting that jar, or reassure, or disorientate, as the scene requires. The movie succeeds in making big ideas relevant on a small, human scale – what does an infinite universe mean to the people caught up in it? – and this is supported by the close interiority of the cinematography. The Universe remains an abstract idea, conveyed by formulae and diagrams, but the human reality of living within it is powerfully shown in close-ups and reflections, as people go through their loves and regrets behind shut doors and drawn curtains.
THE ALICE PARADOX is a careful, thoughtfully made film with much to offer the patient and observant viewer. Bring a hungry brain, and a friend or two to pick over the details with afterwards, in a dimly-lit restaurant or moody coffee shop.
It must be said, though, this is a very slow burn. There’s plenty of tension but not much action, and thrill-seekers who’re after a pacy sci-fi or violent horror film will be disappointed.
Robyn Fraser