Still Alice tells the story of Alice, a linguistics professor at Columbia who notices that she appears to be losing her memory. This culminates in a moment of panic for her during a run when she seemingly forgets where she is, despite being in a place she regularly frequents. At that point, she visits a neurologist and it is revealed she has early onset Alzheimer's. The rest of the movie shows us her steady loss of self as her memory continues fading at a rapid clip.
This movie lives and dies with Julianne Moore. She is sensational in the role of Alice, and shows us all the little losses Alice suffers as she eventually fades to nothing. Her performance is such that she manages to carry the entire movie. The problem with this film lies with everything else. Alice's husband, played by Alec Baldwin, is essentially an empty vessel. He shows that he cares about Alice, but we are given little insight into him or what he is thinking. Kristen Stewart is slightly more developed as Alice's youngest daughter, with whom Alice has a difficult relationship, but eventually rallies to her mother's side. The other actors are given nothing to do. For example, in one scene we learn that Alice's oldest daughter has the same gene Alice does and will likely develop Alzheimer's at an early age like her mother. This plot point leads nowhere. It's mentioned once and never discussed again. Alice also has a son, but again, he is given nothing to do. He could have been cut from the film, and literally nothing would be different. It's all very disappointing.
Overall, I would say, see this movie for Julianne Moore, and just grit your teeth through the rest.
This movie lives and dies with Julianne Moore. She is sensational in the role of Alice, and shows us all the little losses Alice suffers as she eventually fades to nothing. Her performance is such that she manages to carry the entire movie. The problem with this film lies with everything else. Alice's husband, played by Alec Baldwin, is essentially an empty vessel. He shows that he cares about Alice, but we are given little insight into him or what he is thinking. Kristen Stewart is slightly more developed as Alice's youngest daughter, with whom Alice has a difficult relationship, but eventually rallies to her mother's side. The other actors are given nothing to do. For example, in one scene we learn that Alice's oldest daughter has the same gene Alice does and will likely develop Alzheimer's at an early age like her mother. This plot point leads nowhere. It's mentioned once and never discussed again. Alice also has a son, but again, he is given nothing to do. He could have been cut from the film, and literally nothing would be different. It's all very disappointing.
Overall, I would say, see this movie for Julianne Moore, and just grit your teeth through the rest.