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Rating: 4 out of 5
My grandma currently hit 94-years-old. A major accomplishment that should be applauded and appreciated. Being on this planet for that long deserves a freakin medal. Since I was five years old, I have spoken to my grandma at the same time every Sunday. I enjoy our conversations because I get to talk to her every week and see how she is doing. I bring up my grandma because she has Alzheimer’s disease. Every week gets tougher and more challenging to speak with her because she doesn’t remember almost anything. Her mind is back in the past, and she thinks her parents are still alive. It is heartbreaking because she has been an extraordinary person in my life and to see her mind slowly fade away is hard.
Recently, I watched Still Alice, and I must say it was challenging to watch because I know someone who has the disease. Written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on the 2007 novel by Lisa Genova, Still Alice is a film where a linguistics professor is diagnosed with familial Alzheimer’s disease shortly after her 50th birthday. Dr. Alice Howland (Moore) is a respected Linguistics professor at Columbia University who is married to John (Baldwin) and has three children (Stewart, Bosworth, and Parrish). Alice recently celebrated her 50th birthday, and life couldn’t seem any better. After forgetting a word during a lecture and becoming lost during a jog on campus, she soon learns that she has been diagnosed with early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease. Alice and her family learn that this is a hereditary disease. As Alice tries to cope with this, her life slowly changes as her mind deteriorates around her family. She soon loses all recognition of her children and herself. The once-proud mother and professor will soon become lost in her very own mind.
First and foremost, this movie was CARRIED by the performance of Julianne Moore. Moore really embodied Alice and displayed the stages of denial but also fear that her character went through. Moore showed Alice in disbelief at first because she was a professor and exercised regularly, and the thought of having this disease never crossed her mind. Moore’s performance went above and beyond because she showed and delivered the effects of this disease. Moore showed Alice’s subtle signs in the beginning by forgetting simple things like names and places. As time went on, Moore showed Alice going from this brilliant person to someone who had a kid’s mind to finally saying nothing at all. Major props need to be given to Moore, who really put in the time and work in learning about this disease to make a compelling performance.
Now for the story, I would say that it has the equivalent of one of those Lifetime movies, but when you have a personal connection to the subject, then it seems to be a far better film. When watching the film, one might think that hitting 50 is “old” but still have many years left for them. In Alice’s case, she is at the top of her game health-wise and mentally for her age. Then BAM! She gets hit by a freight train. As someone who has NO idea what Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease is, it was a somewhat eye-opening view into this disease and world.
It’s tough to see someone who starts to lose their memory altogether. At first, you see Alice, and you think no big deal because everyone forgets someone’s name or address once in a while. Then when the Thanksgiving dinner came around, she completely forgets the son’s girlfriend’s name and asked twice. Slowly her mind goes from forgetting names to places and events altogether. The film shows touching moments of her on the beach and looking through a photo album, but it also reminds you that simple things are becoming difficult. One scene that was really hard to watch was when Alice was in her own vacation and gets lost in it on the way to the bathroom, only for her to wet herself.
One of the most heartwarming and tearjerker moments was when Alice delivered her speech at a convention. Before, she talked about how it took her many days to just write the speech because she kept forgetting it. When she finally did, she couldn’t remember what paragraphs she said aloud. During the presentation, it was strong as she talked about the fear but also survival. I almost teared up. In another scene, when her daughter gives birth to a child, Alice is excited but then BOOM, forgets her daughter and who she is. The ending is rough because Alice can only say a few words and loses the ability to talk.
Also, I want to say this before I end this review. Alice’s husband, John, is a punk-ass bitch. Yea, I said it. He is a punk-ass bitch. You can tell that he loves his wife, but the whole in sickness vow during a wedding went far out of the window. As his wife’s mind is slowly deteriorating, he finds out that he got a new job in like Minnesota. What does he do? He takes the job because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but the real reason is that he can’t take it anymore. His punk ass leaves his wife’s care in the hands of his daughter, who moves back from sunny LA. Yea, you a punk ass bitch.
Also, I want to say that the film also brings up another theme, and that is suicide. Would you commit suicide at a certain point to save the ones you love from a period of pain and sadness? Alice makes a video for herself to play at the start if she has gotten to the point where everything is too hard, and she can’t answer three simple questions. She makes a video with detailed instructions on how to kill herself. It took her a while to find the video and several times to do each step because she kept forgetting. She doesn’t do it because she is interrupted and completely forgets what she was doing. It makes you think, what would you do?
Still Alice is a film that is carried by the beautiful performance of Julianne Moore. Moore gave a fantastic performance and definitely deserved all the accolades for her performance. The film could be a Lifetime movie but will hit you on a different level if you know someone going through this disease. Seeing the main character’s mind deteriorate before your very eyes is heartbreaking. Give this film a chance and learn about a disease that affects everyone around them.
