Monday 23 March 2015

Still Alice // film review

I've never attempted a film review before, at least not that I can remember, so please forgive me if this is a load of rubbish. On Saturday, I went to see Still Alice - I didn't really know what it was about and I went because it was the only decent-looking thing on, and I'm so glad I did...


Still Alice is the story of a loving mother and world-renowned university lecturer who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 50 - which is such a low age for the symptoms to affect her in the way they did. Alice is played by the incredible Oscar-winning Julianne Moore, and I'd say this is the performance of her career. She portrays the character in such an honest and tender way; it's not silly and it's not over the top - it's normal, it's real and it's beautiful.

She is supported by her husband (Alec Baldwin) and her three grown-up children - one of whom is played by the ever-fabulous Kristen Stewart - and we see her decline over a year or so. The film is completely well-paced; the cinematography is absolutely beautiful in parts, especially the scenes on the beach and the photographic flashbacks that make up part of Alice's distorted memories. Kudos to Wash Westmoreland and the late Richard Glatzer who did an epic directing job on this one.

The soundtrack is ridiculously stunning, particularly the song by Karen Elson, 'If I Had A Boat' - I've already incorporated it into my Spotify playlist, I like it that much. The story of Still Alice, which is adapted from a novel of the same name by Lisa Genova, is so moving and subtle that it doesn't have that overbearing sense of negativity despite the awful subject matter. We see the story unfold through Alice's own eyes, and while it's sensitively heartbreaking, it's also utterly life-affirming.

At it's core, this is a beautiful film about the weight of a situation like this on the collective shoulders' of your average American family. It is so well done and I would honestly recommend it to everyone. Take your tissues though, yeah?


4 comments:

  1. I want to see this SO BAD <3 I nearly cried just watching the trailer though.. *phew* Definitely gona be a tear jerker!
    Jemma xx

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  2. I LOVED this movie!! Julianne Moore is just perfect as Alice. It's so heartbreaking!

    Chrissy x
    www.chrissylilly.com

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  3. I read this book 2 years ago - didn't realise they had made it into a film!!! Will definitely need to see this, sounds like it lives up to the book!

    www.beaucience.co.uk

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  4. I've seen the cover of this but had no idea what it was about. It sounds amazing. May have to watch at home though because I will most probably cry. Great review.
    Beth x
    Mermaid in Disguise

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