Have you ever walked into a room only to forget why? Have you ever had to glance at the clock several times because the time isn’t registering in your mind?

Has your house ever been overturned because you can’t recall where you placed the keys? If so, then take comfort from the fact that you aren’t alone (uhh... right guys?), though if you watch Still Alice, you may be tempted to schedule an appointment with a neurologist.

Based on the Lisa Genova best seller by the same name, Still Alice is the story of a Columbia University linguistics professor who is battling Alzheimer’s disease at an unusually young age. While such a predicament would be trying for anyone, it is especially difficult for Dr Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) as she is a highly accomplished academic renowned for her intellect.

In the lead role, Julianne Moore displays a wonderfully-controlled performance where she struggles with the disease in a heartbreaking fashion without being exploitative. Her slow transformation from a character with a sharp but fractured mind into a person who mistakes her eldest daughter for her long deceased sister, and is unable to recognise her youngest daughter, is likely to raise the tiny hairs on any viewer’s paranoid body.

An Alzhiemer patient’s gradual descent into personal hell

Julianne Moore’s chilling embodiment of an Alzheimer’s patient will especially resonate with viewers who have witnessed the disease shake a family to its core. In particular, her expressions where she resembles a deer in the headlights, battling with shattered pieces of confusing memories with anxiety and confusion, reminded me greatly of someone I know. Her performance also affirms the notion that memories make us who we are. The severity of her illness is summed up when she tells her husband, John Howland (Alec Baldwin) that she would rather be dying from cancer. 

Providing support to Moore is the rest of the supporting cast in effective performances. Here, Alice’s children are not only coming to terms with their mother’s illness, but the fact that the genetic condition may have been passed on to them. Amongst the supporting players, Kristen Stewart (Lydia Howland) stands out with an endearing turn.

To the film’s credit, Still Alice doesn’t sugar coat the emotions of its supporting characters. For example, at times both Alice’s husband and her youngest daughter realistically express frustration with her, even for actions beyond her control, though they do apologise quickly after. Tragically, she is unable to remember what they are apologising for.

Where Still Alice suffers is in its mundane script which is reminiscent of dozens of formulaic made-for-TV family dramas before it. The film also resorts to clichés to deepen the impact of the relationships.

To make matters worse, none of the supporting characters are driven by interesting motivations, including Lydia, who is a struggling actor. Surely Alice’s family could have been written as more interesting characters without overshadowing her. While Julianne Moore grandly carries Still Alice on her own, it seems as if the rest of film was content with living in her shadow. The actress bagged the Best Actress trophy at this year’s Oscar ceremony.

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and brief strong language including a sexual reference

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 15th, 2015

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