Still Alice is one of the great movies of the year that everyone should see. It’s heartbreaking. It’s earnest. It’s painful. It’s real.
No, it’s not based on a true story, but it is based on deep research. The premise is early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and although at its base it really is just the story of one woman’s progression through the disease and her family’s role in that, it’s the telling of this story and the magical way that Julianne Moore brings this character to the screen that makes this movie truly remarkable.
As noted, and in giving nothing away, the film is about a woman’s initial discovery of (and covering up of) symptoms of, through diagnosis of, through struggles with, to decline due to Alzheimer’s. Yes, the film uses early-onset as its focus, which does make the movie particularly and interestingly different from the many stories so many of us know of loved ones or friends. But other than the devastating effect of the genetic component of early-onset, the disease is as brutal whether one is diagnosed at 50 or at 65. The effects are as unforgiving. The story is as crushing. And Julianne Moore shows all of this this beautifully and bravely.
This movie is one of those that will touch many of us very personally. In my world, it’s due to my aunt who has Alzheimer’s. (For anyone who follows me on Facebook, yes, this is why I always log my Charity Miles for the Alzheimer’s Association.) I’ve watched my mother experience her loss of her relationship with her sister, and while my heart wept in watching Moore portray Alice in the film, my chest visibly shrunk into itself watching the family members work through their grief and anger and helplessness.
The story itself is not particularly stellar or different; this disease has affected so many. But the way in which Moore and her supporting cast bring the reality of such a harsh disease to the screen that affects so many, that’s what makes this movie what it is for me. Alzheimer’s is not just about losing one’s memory or about forgetting things. Alzheimer’s is about the brain stopping its functions. This movie shows that. And odds are that everyone’s life will be touched by Alzheimer’s. And because of that, yes, this is one of the great movies of the year.
Everyone should see it.