A realistic depiction of Alzheimer's disease, captured by an emotional script and fine performances.
Script: 10
The script is clean and simple, it doesn't try to diminish the devastating effect Alzheimers disease has on the individual and their families. The story does a good job of depicting how different people react to the development of the disease, some adapting and accepting earlier than others.
Main cast: 12
Julianne Moore in her best performance yet, capturing the slow mental degradation of a person with Alzheimer's perfectly. It's a very down-to-earth performance with explosive emotions. Moore deserved her Academy Award for this performance.
I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that Moore and Alec Baldwin feel like an odd couple, but they're surprisingly natural together. He captures the precarious position if someone having to watch the love of his life slowly fade away.
Supporting cast: 9
You can hardly say that Kristen Stewart has to do much-advanced acting here, but she is pretty good when taking into consideration her track record. She is the most fleshed-out of Alice's children and understands her situation better than the others.
Protagonist & antagonist: 11
Alice is a career woman who is struck down by one of the most terrible diseases mankind has struggled with. She puts up a tough fight desire the kids being against her, as she wants to prove to herself and the rest of the world that she is still herself, despite everything she knows and holds dear crumbling in front of her eyes.
Alzheimer's is a tough nut to crack since we haven't cracked it yet. It makes even the strongest-minded person fall in the end.
Production: 10
The production is very down-to-earth, perfectly suitable for the subject matter the film depicts. It doesn't need flashy production values to stand out, because the actors and the script manage that.
Post-production: 9
The minimal music is beautiful and the editing is solid.
Atmosphere: 10
Fortunately, the movie feels grounded in realism, which doesn't take away from its emotional depth. It's heart raking, sad and even difficult to watch at times, but it believably shows just what a bitch Alzheimers can be.
All the strategies Alice utilizes to overcome the obstacles of her decease evoke feelings of triumph and make us see that, despite all, she's still Alice.
Pacing: 10
This is a slow film, which it should be, but Moore amazingly carries it all the way and the emotional depth is strong, so it doesn't feel long.
Expectations: 11
Many similar movies are either too artsy or too mundane to relly work as movies. Still Alice has a magical quality to it, making it feel like something more than your average Academy Award-winning drama.
Replay value: 12
For a movie depicting humanity's fight against one of the most terrible diseases known to man, Still Alice holds up admirably after several rewatches.
Score: 104/120
It's always a little bit weird to be grading movies like this because part of the grade probably should be related to the enjoyment of watching the film. However, because of the gravity of the subject matter on some level it seems wrong to grade it in terms of the entertainment value. Does the film do a great job of showing the progression of Alzheimer's on both the victim and the family? You bet. I've been through all of this in the last few years and everything that happened was extremely familiar. Julianne Moore is as good as you would expect her to be in this role. But in terms of entertainment... nothing great here. You know how the movie is going to end and the journey - while triumphant at times - is a sad one. It's a tough watch on a friday night, not just because of the subject matter but also because there really isn't that much going on in the movie. While the film keeps things moving it really isn't a great watch.
While Moore was excellent I think that Kristen Steward and Alec Baldwin had very difficult roles in that they had to be very much in the background. Stewart pulled that off well, Baldwin not so much.
follow me at https://IHATEBadMovies.com or facebook IHATEBadMovies
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2016-05-30T11:08:43Z
"All my life I've accumulated memories - they've become, in a way, my most precious possessions. The night I met my husband, the first time I held my textbook in my hands. Having children, making friends, traveling the world. Everything I accumulated in life, everything I've worked so hard for - now all that is being ripped away. As you can imagine, or as you know, this is hell. But it gets worse. Who can take us seriously when we are so far from who we once were? Our strange behavior and fumbled sentences change other's perception of us and our perception of ourselves. We become ridiculous, incapable, comic. But this is not who we are, this is our disease. And like any disease it has a cause, it has a progression, and it could have a cure. My greatest wish is that my children, our children - the next generation - do not have to face what I am facing. But for the time being, I'm still alive. I know I'm alive. I have people I love dearly. I have things I want to do with my life. I rail against myself for not being able to remember things - but I still have moments in the day of pure happiness and joy. And please do not think that I am suffering. I am not suffering. I am struggling. Struggling to be part of things, to stay connected to whom I was once. So, 'live in the moment' I tell myself. It's really all I can do, live in the moment. And not beat myself up too much... and not beat myself up too much for mastering the art of losing. One thing I will try to hold onto though is the memory of speaking here today. It will go, I know it will. It may be gone by tomorrow. But it means so much to be talking here, today, like my old ambitious self who was so fascinated by communication. Thank you for this opportunity. It means the world to me. Thank you."