Review of Alive Inside (2014) by Thedrauch — 27 Jan 2015

Though it amounts to little more than an amalgamation of sequences involving the power of music overcoming the degenerative effects of senility, these scenes do have an undeniably uplifting, human quality to them.

Witnessing actual people, once nothing more than a dormant husk of their once vibrant selves, burst into moments of stunning clarity is truly heartwarming. Alive Inside fails to truly delve into the sciences of neural decay and how music plays a direct role in mending these gaps.

It only provides a surface-level examination into the actual reason WHY this method of auditory stimulation seems to cause such an abrupt mental awakening. It is also regrettably brief, clocking in at less than 80-minutes, hindering the film's scope and making it's subject feel less urgent than it actually is.

However, I would still say that Alive Inside makes a good name for it's cause and, at the very least, informs and educates about an issue that is tragically left neglected in most public arenas. Along with other 2014 Alzheimer's related dramas (Such as Still Alice, Wrinkles, among others) Alive Inside makes the case that a human being, regardless of how withered their mental capacity, still exists behind the veneer of a horrible disease that is out of their control.

The proof lies in these few, bittersweet moments on display, and, I must say, I can't deny that their joy of cognitive recovery touched me deeply.