Review of Still Alice (2014) by Russell G — 19 Mar 2016

Alzheimer's is a cruel disease and watching it slowly break a person's mind down is extremely difficult. You know a movie like this is going to be a downer, but it is important to tell stories like this to make people aware of the condition.

It helps people relate to those diagnosed and encourages charitable donations for research. Julianne Moore portrays the role of an accomplished and intelligent woman of the age of 50 diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

She handles the role with respect, compassion and skill. It is perhaps her finest acting performance in her diverse and wide-ranging career. She affectively conveys the mixture of emotions, and gradual degradation thought the movie.

Her moments of anger, frustration, fear, and confusion are genuine and make you feel for the character. Moore completely deserves her Academy Award for Best Actress. The rest of the cast is also worthy support.

Alec Baldwin plays her reluctantly supportive husband and Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish playing her children. Of the children, only Kristen Stewart stands out, but she is the only one who has the opportunity to make an impression.

Richard Glatzer Wash Westmoreland made a movie that handles a difficult subject with dignity. With Moore's acting and their direction, the audience understands the confusion and emotional struggle of the main character, which is key to the experience.

Movies like this are hard to watch for me; I cannot say I enjoyed it. There are love and compassion within the story but like the disease, it ultimately tells a story of a heartbreaking defeat. Still, it is a story worth hearing.