Lydia, you’re the only one in this house I ever trusted!
I have previously seen Still Alice (2014) a couple times before and I remember that each time I watched it, I was blown away by the movie as a whole. The sobering reality of a grim diagnosis, the complicated family dynamics, and the powerhouse lead performance that finally won Julianne Moore a long overdue and well-deserved Best Actress Oscar. Each previous watch of this movie has been a somber one but this time around was even more so because very recently I had a close family member pass away due to complications from dementia. It definitely made both the dialogue the characters share and the decisions they have to make all the more impactful. I won’t lie when I tell you guys that the moments in this movie that were already genuinely heartbreaking, hit even harder with this watch. Thankfully the subject matter is handed with such thought and care that even though I was often tearing up, I also was moved by how beautiful this story was told.
Based on the novel of the same name by Lisa Genova, Still Alice tells the story of Alice Howland, a linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s Disease. As Alice struggles to adjust to her new reality, the bonds between her and her family are tested.
Still Alice is written and directed by husbands Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. Glatzer battled ALS and eventually died due to complications from the disease in 2015. It’s been suggested that Glazer’s own experience with illness had a bearing on the honest way it’s depicted in this movie. I can totally believe that based on how raw some of Alice’s dialogue is.: “I am not suffering. I am struggling…” “I’m sorry. I forgot. I have Alzheimers….I wish I had cancer.” That’s maybe the most hardcore, REAL line that cuts straight to your soul. It perfectly captures the turmoil she’s experiencing and how she needs to at LEAST get some levity out of the situation. The way Glatzer and Westmoreland write Alice’s character is one of my favourite things about Still Alice. Alice isn’t a perfect woman. She disagrees with her children. She gets frustrated with her husband. She makes mistakes. I love that the movie doesn’t feel the need to paint her as a saint to make us pity her as her condition worsens. What the screenwriters do so well is showing every step of how Alice is before, during and after her diagnosis and allow us to thoroughly empathize with what her and her family are going through.
The cast feels like a real family unit. From how they handle each other to how they handle Alice’s diagnosis, they’re steeped in realism. Alice’s husband, John, treats her with overflowing optimism. Her eldest daughter, Anna, treats her like a patient. Everyone in her life has good intentions but never provide Alice with what she actually needs which is to be listened to. Everyone except her daughter Lydia.
Lydia actually asks what it’s like for Alice to which she earnestly replies, “thanks for asking.” It’s so interesting and real the distinction Alice has with Lydia in contrast to her other children. It’s very clear that she is the one who Alice feels safe enough with to be her truest self. The one to not treat her with kid gloves. AND LYDIA is the one who puts her career on hold to stay with Alice in New York City while Alice’s own husband seemingly movies to Minnesota for work without her! That choice is where the movie ends and I feel like it should have been the midway part of the movie. I hope the novel expands Alice and Lydia’s relationship because I could have used so much more of them together.
Lydia is played by Kristen Stewart and I remember thinking that this was going to be the big break that helped the industry take her seriously after the Twilight franchise (2008 – 2012). On a micro level perhaps it was? It was the first time I saw her as a serious actress and I think it’s my favourite performance of hers that I’ve seen. Her Stewart-isms are on full display, yes, but they actually make sense here for the character. It’s an underrated performance from a slept-on actress. I low-key think she deserved a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
Usually with a movie like Still Alice the performances are the highlight. You don’t watch this kind of movie to feel fuzzy or shove popcorn in your mouth. You watch it to be blown away by ACTING. And blown away I was. I think Julianne Moore is one of my favourite dramatic actresses. SHE CAN DO ANYTHING! The lengthy one-shots, the emotional monologues, and the completely convincing transformation her character goes through are unbelievable to watch. I feel like I have the privilege of watching her onstage. She is AMAZING. I will say though, the costuming did her so dirty by putting her in chunky glasses, messy hair and long sweaters making her look like a stereotypical patient as soon as her condition starts to dwindle. I understand visual storytelling but it’s a little on the nose. Also, for some reason I remember her rousing speech being at the end of the movie and therefore thought it ended on more of an optimistic note about her continuing to fight. Instead, the bleak ending leaves with you so many unanswered questions and wanting to know where things go and how people will be…but I guess that’s the sad truth about these kind of illnesses in real life. We never know how these things are going to turn out and can only hope for a happy ending.
Like I said, a movie like Still Alice is one you watch to be blown away by actors at the top of their game and my God, that’s exactly what you get in this raw and gripping drama. Moving, emotional performances that are unafraid to shy away from the hard reality of long-term illness are the cherry on top of a story that is tenderly written and beautifully directed. A truly winning piece of art, this movie is one that will touch your heart and stay with you for years to come.
Have you seen Still Alice?
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