Ensign Lestat's Oscars Countdown, 03/02/2015
Still Alice
Nominations - Best Actress (Julianne Moore)
When Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) forgets a line of her speech on linguistics she blames it on the champagne. But she progresses to forgetting more words as time progresses, till she finally heads to a neurologist.
As a resourceful and highly intelligent woman, she takes the news of her diagnosis better than most. It helps that she has a supportive husband in John (Alec Baldwin). He sees her through her many appointments. What's hardest is breaking the news to the kids. Anna (Kate Bosworth) is a lawyer on the cusp of starting a family; Tom (Hunter Parrish) has followed his father's footsteps with a career in medicine. Finally, there's the youngest and the obvious black sheep of the family - Lydia (Kristen Stewart) is pursuing a career in acting and is doing as well as one can hope in that field.
They're a close-knit family but their bond is tested by Alice's diagnosis. As the audience we can't help but wonder how we'd react - would we be paranoid Anna, sad but supportive Lydia or pragmatic and dissociated Tom? We watch Alice deteriorate and watch her fight to keep afloat - can she and her family rally together through this endless struggle?
'Still Alice' is the kind of film I avoid, because dramas are not my forte, especially not one which is based in real-life struggles. After watching the film (which I did just before bed) I knew why I avoided these films - because they keep you up at night, worrying about it hitting too close to your own fears and worries.
Having watched all the Best Picture nominees over the past two years, I've realised that the one that's stuck with me the most is this one. This year's nominees have left me a bit cold - far too many of them felt like calculated moves to win a nomination. Some weren't even good enough to be nominated. Movies are for entertainment, but they're also meant to engage our minds.
Of all the Oscar nominated films I've seen this year, 'Still Alice' is the only one that affected me. It was profound in its realism, and touching because there was a tangible angst that ran through the core of the film. We saw extensions of ourselves in all the characters.
The performances were exquisite. Even in their much curtailed roles Bosworth and Parrish emoted their feelings brilliantly. Stewart, who is usually one-toned, was brilliant - apathetic but caring when needed.
The revelation was Moore. Her nomination is well-founded and I wouldn't be surprised if she won. Of the nominees in her category, her performance is the strongest. Her versatility shines through as she lets go of her usual tics and embraces Alice's strengths, weaknesses and struggles.
What I loved most was how the underlying tension was depicted in the film. Little expressions of irritation, shakes of the head, shrugs. Quiet asides and plaintive glances spoke louder than lengthy dialogues. In an ideal world a film as tightly written and precisely acted as this one would be getting a Best Picture nomination - it tells a story, a heartfelt story, a real story. Granted, I'm the unlikely audience for this film. Hell, I'm the first in line for comic book films. But even when I watch those, the ones that stick with me tell a far more real story than just explosions and aliens. 'Still Alice' makes me wonder what other great, piercing dramas are being told, which I'm missing out on. It is the kind of film that could have been a strong contender for several awards on Oscar night, but it will have to settle for one very deserved win.
Still Alice
Nominations - Best Actress (Julianne Moore)
When Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) forgets a line of her speech on linguistics she blames it on the champagne. But she progresses to forgetting more words as time progresses, till she finally heads to a neurologist.
As a resourceful and highly intelligent woman, she takes the news of her diagnosis better than most. It helps that she has a supportive husband in John (Alec Baldwin). He sees her through her many appointments. What's hardest is breaking the news to the kids. Anna (Kate Bosworth) is a lawyer on the cusp of starting a family; Tom (Hunter Parrish) has followed his father's footsteps with a career in medicine. Finally, there's the youngest and the obvious black sheep of the family - Lydia (Kristen Stewart) is pursuing a career in acting and is doing as well as one can hope in that field.
They're a close-knit family but their bond is tested by Alice's diagnosis. As the audience we can't help but wonder how we'd react - would we be paranoid Anna, sad but supportive Lydia or pragmatic and dissociated Tom? We watch Alice deteriorate and watch her fight to keep afloat - can she and her family rally together through this endless struggle?
'Still Alice' is the kind of film I avoid, because dramas are not my forte, especially not one which is based in real-life struggles. After watching the film (which I did just before bed) I knew why I avoided these films - because they keep you up at night, worrying about it hitting too close to your own fears and worries. Having watched all the Best Picture nominees over the past two years, I've realised that the one that's stuck with me the most is this one. This year's nominees have left me a bit cold - far too many of them felt like calculated moves to win a nomination. Some weren't even good enough to be nominated. Movies are for entertainment, but they're also meant to engage our minds.
Of all the Oscar nominated films I've seen this year, 'Still Alice' is the only one that affected me. It was profound in its realism, and touching because there was a tangible angst that ran through the core of the film. We saw extensions of ourselves in all the characters.
The performances were exquisite. Even in their much curtailed roles Bosworth and Parrish emoted their feelings brilliantly. Stewart, who is usually one-toned, was brilliant - apathetic but caring when needed.
The revelation was Moore. Her nomination is well-founded and I wouldn't be surprised if she won. Of the nominees in her category, her performance is the strongest. Her versatility shines through as she lets go of her usual tics and embraces Alice's strengths, weaknesses and struggles.
What I loved most was how the underlying tension was depicted in the film. Little expressions of irritation, shakes of the head, shrugs. Quiet asides and plaintive glances spoke louder than lengthy dialogues. In an ideal world a film as tightly written and precisely acted as this one would be getting a Best Picture nomination - it tells a story, a heartfelt story, a real story. Granted, I'm the unlikely audience for this film. Hell, I'm the first in line for comic book films. But even when I watch those, the ones that stick with me tell a far more real story than just explosions and aliens. 'Still Alice' makes me wonder what other great, piercing dramas are being told, which I'm missing out on. It is the kind of film that could have been a strong contender for several awards on Oscar night, but it will have to settle for one very deserved win.
Comments