Still Alice

"Still Alice" stars Julianna Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish. The film  was directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and is based on the book by Lisa Genova who together with Messrs. Glatzer and Westomoreland wrote the screenplay. This is a difficult movie to watch yet a necessary part of the education the general public needs to get in order to understand Alzheimer’s Disease and the effect it can have the victim as well as those around him or her. Ms. Moore is outstanding in this most difficult role as she and the creative cinema photographer take the viewer through the early and then almost full blown stages of the disease. It is certainly not comfortable to watch the deterioration of any individual, let alone a vibrant and once sparkling character played so admirably by Ms. Moore but intellect and curiosity compel us to stay with it.. This is more of a scholastic exercise rather than an entertainment vehicle and could well be mistaken for a promotional film displayed at a fund raiser for the Alzheimer Association. Although the film will probably not do well commercially because of the subject matter and the scenes portrayed in it, it nevertheless is a "must see" for anyone interested in understanding the illness and the fact that statistically so many of us will face its impact, either directly or indirectly. I give the film 3 stars, not only for the performances of the actors, but for the information contained in it and the sensitive manner in which it is conveyed.