Still Alice

It's almost time for the 87th Academy Awards and it took me this long to see Still Alice. Now that I've seen it, it's time for the review.

Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a respected linguistics professor at Columbia University. Her husband John (Alec Baldwin) and their three grown children are happy and healthy. Everything is normal for Alice. At least she thinks it is.

Alice begins to have periodic memory lapses. She's soon diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. Her prospects look grim as her cognitive abilities fade away. But her family is there by her side. She won't have to get through the disease on her own.

Lisa Genova's 2007 novel was brought to the screen by married filmmakers Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (The Last of Robin Hood). Glatzer himself suffered from ALS which made the film personal for them.

Julianne Moore's performance is what makes the movie work. As Alice, we know her first as a warm, caring person. It's awkward when the disease first manifests but it quickly turns nightmarish. All the while, we understand how someone in her position must feel. We worry about her safety.

Her on-screen family also stands out. They always mean the best even if their desires conflict with Alice's. John wishes to move to Minnesota for work and financial security. Alice feels comfortable where she is. John's decision isn't vilified; we sympathize with him too. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart) doesn't always get along smoothly with her mother. But she proves quite selfless in the end.

Still Alice is an inherently sad movie about a woman's decline into senility. It's also a hopeful movie about how one copes with dire circumstances. Its message is that it's possible to face a grim diagnosis with dignity and support. It's an all-around well-acted drama.