‘Still Alice’ struggling, not suffering

Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a 50- year-old linguistics professor at Columbia University. She is married to John (Alec Baldwin), and they have three grown children. Lydia (Kristen Stewart), their youngest child, has a contentious relationship with her mother because she has chosen acting over a college education.

Alice begins to notice that she’s forgetting the little things until one day she goes for a run and gets lost. She goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with a genetic disorder that is causing early-onset Alzheimer’s. The disease moves rapidly and, to compensate, Alice leaves notes for herself to read once she can no longer remember things.

Alice is asked to give a speech to an Alzheimer’s research group. Her declaration, “I am not suffering. I am struggling,” offers clarity to loved ones of people who have Alzheimer’s. The devastating disease causes more suffering to a person’s family than to the person with it.

Alice plans to do something drastic, but when her short-term memory begins to go, something happens at the right moment, and she cannot remember what she was doing. Is it coincidental or providential?

Still Alice is based on the best-selling novel by Lisa Genova. Julianne Moore, who won an Academy Award for her performance, makes Alzheimer’s very real. Kristen Stewart seems to have developed as an actor by adding maturity to her skill set. The film also features a reconciliation scene that is very powerful.

For all the drama, however, it was hard to get beyond the feeling that Still Alice is a message movie—which can be a very good thing.

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