Keke Palmer Stars In 'Alice,' A Slavery Drama Inspired By Actual Events

Keke Palmer is one Holly wood star blessed with an array of talents. The actress started her film career in 2004, featuring in the black drama movie "Barbershop 2: Back in Business." Subsequently, she featured in the educative spelling bee-based flick "Akeelah and the Bee," garnering critical acclaim for her role as the leading lady.

More than a decade has passed since the actress debuted in the industry. She has grown in style, experience, and fame, winning numerous awards for her sterling performances. The 28-year-old also stars as a singer and has released several songs to rival her acting spotlight.

Now, Palmer will return to the silver screen in an upcoming slavery drama based on real-life events.

The actress appeared as Alice in a new teaser for the film, which debuted this month at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Alice is an enslaved woman who ran away from a farm after getting tired of being mistreated by her owners.

She discovered that the year is 1973, and things were changing. Frank, played by Common, is a political activist who assisted Alice in understanding Black emancipation. At some point, the trailer played a scene where it appears Palmer's character was ready to fight back her oppressors after unlearning the lies from her past.

"It's the woman you used to 'own.' You watched us get tormented," Palmer's Alice said on the phone to her former oppressor named Paul. "It's my turn now."

Apart from Palmer and Common, Alice also features other talented stars, including Jonny Lee Miller as Paul, Gaius Charles as Joseph, Alicia Witt as Rachel.

"Alice" is a contemporary empowerment narrative that follows Alice on her journey through the post-Civil Rights Era in America. Given that Palmer is a black woman herself, it was unsurprising that the role meant more to her.

On her Instagram page, the 28-year-old shared a post that detailed how her character in the movie pulled her heartstrings.

"I AM FREEDOM Ain't nothing like a black woman stepping into her POWER," Palmer wrote about the trailer. "WE ALL COME FROM ALICE'S because only the strong survived!" On a different post, the actress noted, "This film is very close to my heart & I poured my soul into my character, Alice. I hope you love her as much as I do."

Krystin Ver Linden wrote and directed the thriller based on a true story. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Ver Linden revealed that a People magazine article on Mae Miller, who faced enslavement in Mississippi until escaping in the 1960s, inspired her narrative.

"Her journey out and what she achieved with her life when she got out was very inspirational," the filmmaker confessed.

According to Women and Hollywood, the director wants her upcoming movie to deliver much value to viewers' hearts.

"Alice" should be a reminder and an inspiration that self-expression and embracing who you are on your own terms is powerful and what you believe in can actually make a difference, "she said. "It takes one spark to start a fire."

Palmer spoke of how she felt when she read the script for the first time, revealing its content was "informative, exciting, engaging," and different from other similar tales about the enslavement of the blacks.

I felt empowered," she told Hollywood Reporter. "This is the big thing for me. When we go back in time to our stuff, it's like, 'Here we go. Time to get sad. Time to get victimized.' That's not what happened here. That's what I loved about it."

"Then for it to be in the 1970s, one of the biggest times of the Black Power movement — it just got me amped. It got me excited," continued Palmer. "This is the twist we need. This is the twist of now."