Review of Still Alice (2014) by Joshua S — 26 May 2015

A hard-hitting and underplayed portrait of what Alzheimer's can do to the best of us, Still Alice depressed the hell out of me and that's okay. What makes this even more tragic is the fact that our protagonist (Julianne Moore) is exceedingly brilliant and watching her slow drift into cognitive oblivion despite her best efforts and clever mental tricks was a bit hard to take. Moore commits to the point it puts Eddie Redmayne to shame and it's quite fascinating how in each scene (and I mean EVERY scene) we see some new hint of mental decline and the person who we are familiar with begins to fade. The film itself is tastefully shot and the soundtrack will often give clues as to the state of her mind, especially when she is about to suffer an attack. The supporting performances are beyond excellent with Alec Baldwin as the silently suffering husband and Kristen Stewart (yes, HER) as the closest of the children to the mother and understanding her feelings.

I'm still going to go on record and say that Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) and Reese Witherspoon (Wild) had Julianne Moore dead to rights as far as a leading performance is concerned, but that should not hinder your appreciation of what she does here. And let's be honest - Moore is a veteran, no bullshit actress who consistently brings her abilities to the screen in everything she appears in - whether it be critically acclaimed character studies or hack popcorn action movies. So recognition is deserved in one way or another. Approach this film with respect and fair warning of its heavy subject matter.