Julianne Moore gives what could possibly be the performance of her career.
Lisa Genova’s best-selling novel, Still Alice, brought the reality of Alzheimer’s to life for thousands of readers. The writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland bring it to thousands more with this adaptation that more than does the book justice.
Julianne Moore plays Alice, a happily married 50-year-old New Yorker with three grown children – Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth & Hunter Parrish – and a successful career. The renowned professor decides to seek medical help after forgetting simple words and getting lost during a run on campus. It’s then that she receives a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s. The drama increases further when she’s told that it’s genetic, and could affect her children.
Most films that tackle Alzheimer’s approach the condition from the point-of-view of friends and family. It was therefore refreshing to see Still Alice focus on the victim’s perspective – and in such an emotional and brilliant way.
This film deservedly won Julianne Moore an Oscar for Best Actress. She is superb throughout. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast never quite emerge from her shadow. Kristen Stewart surprisingly gets the closest to Moore’s level of acting – giving a performance that almost makes up for the Twilight Saga.
With around 36 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s, it’s likely you’ll know someone with the disease. Having somebody close to me with the condition resulted in the film hitting me hard – and it would seem I wasn’t alone. There were so many sniffles at my screening, I suspect we left puddles on the floor.
See Still Alice and much more at Showcase Cinema, Peterborough. Visit www.showcasecinemas.co.uk for the latest up-to-date show times. You can also join the chat on Twitter @showcasecinemas or on Facebook by searching for ‘Showcase Cinemas UK’
Mikey Clarke
Genre: Drama
Cast: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth & Hunter Parrish
Running Time: 1hr 39mins
Directed by: Richard Glatzer &Wash Westmoreland
See it if you liked: The Theory of Everything & A Beautiful Mind
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