“‘Still Alice’ is both moving and powerful; mainly down to a stunning performance by Julianne Moore.”
SPOILER FREE After having its world premiere at Toronto Film Festival on September 8th and then a US release on December 5th 2014, you could say that I was looking forward to see whether the film was going to be as amazing as all the hype led it to be. As soon as the first scene found its way onto the cinema screen, I can truly say that I was hooked into the Birthday dinner conversation between Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) and her immediate family. Since the film is delving into tricky subject matter, it’s stance on characterisation needs to be one of great accuracy.
‘Still Alice’ completely succeeds on making every character and situation as real as it can possibly be. Every film needs to be believable enough in order for the audience to fully engage in their own escapism, but ‘Still Alice’ has to try extra hard; only because of how real its subject matter is to so many people. It’s certainly not a bad thing for a film to dread on dangerous territory, but sensitivity is so important – although when the credits roll; ‘Still Alice’ only wants you to stand up and clap for achieving an outstanding goal, and trust me it deserves it. When Alice is first diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, she seems to discover so many different things about how it affects her. The genius of this storytelling is that its completely synchronised with our discovery. The film is as compelling as it is strong in its portrayal of family struggles and on-off relationships. ‘Still Alice’ succeeds in being entertaining, even though its subject matter is tough to deal with. By no means does it every become dark or depressing, but only real to the core of how you believe people to act in a situation such as hers.
After winning her Academy Award for Best Actress; the hype surrounding the film was large, but its only when you see Julianne Moore in action that you really begin to understand how much she deserved it. The film takes you on a journey that feels extremely real, but strong in its efforts to convince you of it. Julianne Moore shines in this by being very believable which is exactly what the film needed. It’s entertaining, devastating; but also rather wonderful.
★★★★
Hudson-Cook 