Still Alice (2014)

[baumer]

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[Blankments]

A pretty good movie in all accounts. At some points the cinematography and direction feel TV quality, but the script is brutal and both Moore and Stewart give phenomenal performances. The latter was definitely snubbed for a nomination at the Oscars, but the former thankfully won in her devastating role. Good film. B+

[Avatree]

Taken from http://entwinedbranches.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/still-alice-review.html

 

Every year, billions of dollars are donated by people around the world to charities that battle cancer. As is the case in many economic markets, one product rises and dominates everything else. When it comes to illnesses, Alzheimer's gets hugely overlooked - and this is a problem Still Alice wants to have a go at changing. While the film hasn't set the world on fire, its goal is admirable and it's certainly managed to shine some light on the disease for the mainstream cinemagoing audience.

 

The premise of the film is simple: Alice Howland, an intellectual linguistics professor, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's, and she and her family must deal with it. Still Alice is not a movie of grand scope; it is a character study that not only creates an ironically three-dimensional lead, but is a thoughtful messenger boy for director Richard Glatzer's opining. Alzheimer's is tragic, and there is no way around it. The film struggles to find much happiness, at least for the majority of its runtime, due mostly to its sheer number of powerful moments. About 25 minutes in to the film, there was a stunningly moving moment, at which point I thought, "there is no way anything in the film will top this", and then sure enough, 5 minutes later, there was an even more powerful line. It happened again, and again, and again.

 

However, the emotional resonance of the film is a slight problem. If you strip away its tugs on the heartstrings, you have to ask the question of how much there is left. As far as I'm concerned, the script doesn't have the depth for the film to be considered a true great in the genre. It's a case of style - or, perhaps, message - over narrative substance. But then, does it need to have depth? It ultimately has a low goal of what it wants to achieve, and frankly it succeeds very competently in doing so. Julianne Moore gives a remarkable performance as someone who is losing their humanity. By the end of the film, she doesn't even look like the same human being: her body feels like an empty shell, her eyes gazing vacuously over even the most everyday things in her life. Denis Lenoir's photography is light and makes use of patternless focus points on the camera, deliberately confusing depths and emotions. The composition of each shot gradually becomes less clear, with certain people and objects slightly out of the frame, which all reflects the unfocused nature of Alice as a character - she doesn't know what she is looking at, what she's thinking about.

 

Although Moore is the person everyone has been talking about, for me the real star of the show was Kristen Stewart. I've liked her work since Twilight, a series that gets a lot more hate than it deserves, and she has really developed as an actress in the past few years, particularly through films such as The Runaways and 2014's Camp X-Ray. She gives a terrific performance as a daughter who, despite being the only person who understands how Alice feels, doesn't see her mother as a different person. She still doesn't want to be nagged, she still wants normal conversations - because (pardon the pun) Alice is still Alice. The rest of the supporting cast is strong, but Stewart is the standout of the entire film. Her character is the embodiment of the impact Alzheimer's has - the frustration and desperation she is brought to arguably gives an even more convincing and thorough portrayal of the film's ideas.

 

Richard Glatzer clearly wanted to send out this final, personal message about how an overlooked illness can cause such harm and conflict upon all sorts of people, and he succeeds. It's wonderful that in his last moments on earth, he was able to achieve his goals with such a fine touch. Maybe the film is too simple-minded, maybe it relies too much on appealing to emotions, maybe it's just a one-trick pony. But the truth is, I don't care. For what it is, it's a fabulous, appropriately sad and occasionally inspiring film that can be appreciated universally, and genuinely has something to offer in terms of real-world understanding.

 

☆☆☆☆☆

[ShouldIBeHere]

Only 2 reviews?

 

Well... I cannot rate this objectively. I have a case of Alzheimer's in my close family.

 

All I can say is that a lot of people have come to me and said "Now we can see what your family is going through."

 

After seeing it myself I can say that it is a pretty good and accurate portrayal of what it is like.

 

 

A

[CoolioD1]

I feel like I basically posted my review in another thread months ago but I forget where. anyway great film

[solaris]

Well that completely floored me. Beautifully understated and absolutely guy wrenchingly sad. Moore and Stewart are both flawless, and the final scene/exchange between them is perfect.

A