Still Alice, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Lisa Genova, stars Julianne Moore as a 50-year-old linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Being diagnosed with this disease at such a young age is extremely rare, and the film follows her journey through the stages of the debilitating disease from the beginning of her symptoms to the eventual end of her ability to retain any recent memories
The disease begins with subtle signs: from a renowned linguist forgetting the word ‘lexicon’ to forgetting what lecture she was meant to present, and then onto more complex memory loss as time goes on. We watch as she becomes lost in familiar places, as she forgets names and favourite desserts. Moore presents us with a character that resembles friends and family members many of us may have known or will know during the course of our lives.
Along the way, viewers are presented with the harsh realities that so many face when diagnosed with this disease. We witness the struggles faced by her loving husband (Alec Baldwin) and her three children (Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish). Of particular importance is her children’s struggle to face the reality early on that they each have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the disease, and passing it along to their children, too. Whether or not they choose to get tested and learn the results is an choice they each must face individually.
The movie does a good job of portraying Alice in a genuine manner. Moore has said in interviews that she spent a great deal of time around those with Alzheimer’s to understand how they feel and act in daily life, and her research shows in her performance throughout the film.
At times, the camera work changes to show things from her perspective — a little out-of-focus and blurred in some areas. As she progresses through the disease, we witness someone who was so strong in her language skills transformed to someone who depends on her iPhone for constant note-taking and reminders. Later on in the film, Alice breaks down when said phone is lost, but is unaware of its importance when it is no longer in sight.
We also bear witness to a private moment in which she devises a plan for her future self behind all the other characters’ backs, and the harsh reality that comes from reading said plan in a more advanced state of her disease.
Still Alice is a powerful film that is sure to impact those who have been touched in some way by Alzheimer’s, and give those who have not a glimpse into a reality they may never have imagined before.
Still Alice opens in Vancouver on January 23.
