Review of Still Alice (2014) by Alberto A — 04 Mar 2015

Julianne Moore gives one of the best performances of her career as Dr. Alice Howland. A Linguistics Professor at Columbia University who has always been distinguished for having a great use of language; words were a big chunk of her personality. However, she begins losing her essence when she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimerâ??s. Julianne Mooreâ??s performance was so great that it made me divert my sight from the screen because I could not look at it anymore. She really conveyed the desperation of a human being slowly fading away into a pit that looks resembles a purgatory. She ceased to be, but she was still alive. Was she still Alice even if everything that encompassed that name was lost? All of these are depicted in Julianneâ??s performance.

Another thing that is very interesting about Still Alice is the way it was done. Co-director Richard Glatzer is someone who suffers from ALS and does not have the ability to speak, so he had to use an app to direct, alongside Wash Westmoreland. Iâ??m glad a film like this transmits the horrors of the disease and I hope it helps people like Glatzer. Both directors did an amazing job, attempting to mix a quite bitter story about inner oblivion with a tiny bit of humor, because even in the darkest moments, there are still some moments of laughter, which is what Dr. Alice did to start coping with her disease.

I think whatâ??s so special about Still Alice is its ending. For me, not having a closed ending (her not dying) depicted something even more horrifying about Alzheimerâ??s: that people do not die from it as with cancer or other diseases that usually have death as a following step. If you ask me, Alice is still living and suffering with her disease, and that is why this ending is perfect. The imminent tragedy of her death is still unforeseeable.

Still Alice is a magnifying glass that looks into one of the most dreadful diseases, and it is raw and ruthless with its audience, but it works perfectly. Great cast, great script, and great direction.