Friday, January 16, 2015

Still Alice (2014)

Julianne Moore gives what many think will be the Oscar winning performance of the year in STILL ALICE as a professor who develops early onset Alzheimer's disease.

Based on Lisa Genova's 20017 self published novel the film shows the devastation brought to the patient and the family around them. You feel their pain. The film is  tour de force for Moore and the rest of the cast, including Kristen Stewart who continues to put forth a body of work that will get her n Oscar one day.

I'm mixed on the film as a whole. Its a very literary, very much "a film about something", very much "look at me look at me give me the statue of the bald guy" film. Its not a bad film  but it's one that is trying way too hard to be very serious. Its full of it's own self importance. Its a big budget movie of the week weepie on the big screen.

For me the problem is that the film/story stacks everything to make it's point- a linguistics professor who loses her ability to  use language. It hits you over the head with symbolism. Its full of great actors emoting meaningfully so you take it seriously. It wants you to know what its about from the instant it starts instead of letting us find out.

Its not a great film but a good one. The trouble is  you know what you're getting going in. If you know that you'll be fine but if you want to be surprised, I mean really surprised, look elsewhere.

No comments:

Post a Comment