Still Alice is a moving examination of one woman's deterioration from early onset Alzheimer's and its effects on her family. It traces the early stages of her disease to the point where her personality begins to vanish. The film benefits from an excellent performance by Julianne Moore as well as a solid supporting cast. It succeeds in being moving while avoiding sentimentality.
The highlight of the film is Moore's performance, which captures the emotional devastation wrought by the disease without succumbing to histrionics. Moore uses subtle cues to convey Alzheimer's slow breakdown of her character's personality. Although it is unquestionably Moore's show, Alec Baldwin does well as her husband, steering a careful path between self-sacrificing saint and self-absorbed cad. Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth also do well in their smaller roles.
Still Alice also benefits from good camera work which conveys the character's condition. At several points in the film, the scenery around Moore blurs, leaving only her in focus. This camera trick gets her sense of confusion and dislocation across to a degree acting could not. The film also benefits from a non-judgmental tone, avoiding treating characters as either martyrs or villains.
The film has some flaws. Most of the characters other than Moore's are drawn in very broad strokes. There is also one unnecessary scene which was obviously intended to promote the Alzheimer's Foundation, a point that could have been gotten across much more subtly. Still, it's worth seeing just for Moore's performance.
The highlight of the film is Moore's performance, which captures the emotional devastation wrought by the disease without succumbing to histrionics. Moore uses subtle cues to convey Alzheimer's slow breakdown of her character's personality. Although it is unquestionably Moore's show, Alec Baldwin does well as her husband, steering a careful path between self-sacrificing saint and self-absorbed cad. Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth also do well in their smaller roles.
Still Alice also benefits from good camera work which conveys the character's condition. At several points in the film, the scenery around Moore blurs, leaving only her in focus. This camera trick gets her sense of confusion and dislocation across to a degree acting could not. The film also benefits from a non-judgmental tone, avoiding treating characters as either martyrs or villains.
The film has some flaws. Most of the characters other than Moore's are drawn in very broad strokes. There is also one unnecessary scene which was obviously intended to promote the Alzheimer's Foundation, a point that could have been gotten across much more subtly. Still, it's worth seeing just for Moore's performance.