The Most Disturbing Scene ( testing the audience's moral limits)

There is a scene in the movie that poses a genuine moral dilemma for the audience. I'd also argue that its morally instructive because it tests the limits of *our* moral identity.

I'm talking about, of course, the scene where Alice's past self communicates with her future self (or current self from our perspective later in the film).

I have to confess to finding that scene very uncomfortable. Not because I'm morally opposed to suicide but because it starts to resemble an act of murder.

We all know why Alice instructs her future self to take the pills: Alice can't imagine living when she no longer knows who (or where) she 'really' is.

From this perspective, Alice's message is morally defensible and its easy to identify with her choice - she wants to put herself (and her family) out of its misery. Alice can't imagine still being Alice beyond this point, and would rather die.


The only problem is that she is presupposing the very thing at issue - a continuity between self.

If identity is an expression of memory, then there is the question of whether they're still the same person throughout time.

Since Alice didn't understand (remember) what she was watching - go kill yourself now - then her former self had a questionable claim upon her future self.

I suppose what I'm saying is: I found that scene very disturbing because she was essentially telling someone other than herself to go kill themselves.

The Alice about to take the pills gave little indication that she knew what she was doing or why: if it was without her knowledge or consent, then we're not about to witness a suicide attempt but someone trying to murder an impressionable (scared and impaired) person.

How did you feel about the scene? Did it test your limits?