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2014 Movie poster recovered from IMDB |
Julianne Moore portrays the heartbreaking role of Dr. Alice Howland, a prestigious professor of linguistics at Columbia University in the 2014 film Still Alice. By the time she realizes she has difficulties regarding her memory, she makes the decision of getting a consult with a neurologist, only to find out she’s suffering of Early-Onset Familial Alzheimer’s Disease. Based on Lisa Genova’s best-selling novel, the story’s progression shows how Alice’s disability broadens, and we become witnesses of the anguish and desperation her husband and children go through.
What starts with a quick-witted woman giving conferences and spreading her expertise across the country, soon evolves into an intellectually disadvantaged character who has left her life and knowledge behind. The film’s protagonist immerses us in her sorrow and hopelessness by vocalizing her disposition to take away her own life not if, but when, the condition escalates to a point where she can’t remember her own daughters name. Julianne Moore’s enactment of Dr. Howland ‘s won her a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 2015.
After talking to Wash Westmoreland, the movie’s director and screenwriter, the idea behind the movie and everything involved in it’s making became quite clear. working in the entertainment industry is definitely a challenge, and regarding that challenge that's been spoken of, Walsh had something to say. Here it is:
When asked about the writing process and the elements he wanted to remain intact from the original novel, Wash responded: “we have this incredible book to adapt and it was very beloved in the Alzheimer's community, so we wanted to get it right. We didn't want to be one of those circumstances where people are like “Oh, I like the film but the book was better”. We wanted to nail it so that it really took what the book had and made it more, like brough it into a visual dimension and became something that people could experience as a film.”
He then continued: “The thing we really left intact was the structure, the idea of Alice's early Alzheimer's experiences, the difficulties hanging on to her job, and her struggles with her family, especially with her youngest daughter, Lydia. And the ending of course of the book is the same as the ending of the movie.” To finish off Wash’s words of wisdom, he advised everyone should watch the film Still Alice. This is why:
Roman Rangel, eulogized film critic and Programing Director of the International Film Festival DOQUMENTA, commented on the nature of the film: “I consider it’s a prominent film that manages to lawfully portray, not only the deterioration of Alzheimer’s in a woman too young for such diagnosis, but also the relationship she holds with her close relatives.”
He continued, “I like that it never indulges in the melodramatic traps we might see in minor approaches like we would on the Hallmark Channel (in this case I did not perceive manipulative scenes and violins in the soundtrack.)” Regarding Dr. Howland’s character he said, “The best part is definitely the performance of Julianne Moore, who is totally compelling in her role.”
Still image of Julianne Moore as Dr. Howland in the film Still Alice.
ABOUT THE DISEASE
Alzheimer’s is an irreversible, progressive disease which damages the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for forming memories. As the hippocampus slowly deteriorates, performing every day task and leading a normal life becomes more of a challenge both to the person who suffers it, and those around it. The condition evolves ironically by backsliding the neurological connections built through life, and as more and more neurons die, the brain size continues to shrink.
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Visual comparison of a normal brain vs. a brain with developed Alzheimer’s disease. Diagram recovered from Nature. |
Trisha (who requested anonymity in her last name), is currently a nurse at Collington, a Kendal Senior Living Communities Affiliate in Washington DC. When asked about what the greatest challenge of working with someone who’s Alzheimer is progressing faster than usual, her response was: “the hardest part I guess would be knowing who they were (the patients) before and knowing that they were someone very accomplished. Just to see who they are now and how much trouble they have remembering things is very frustrating for them because it seems like they’re aware of their decline and I think that’s the hardest part, when they’re not too far gone that they are aware of it (the decline).”
In regards to the attitude and the behaviors the families of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s show frequently, Trisha said, “Denial is the most common thing, and it comes from a place where the person they knew before is no longer the person who’s in front of them and they have higher expectations of the patient or the family member, either intellectually or physically. They (family members) think that they can do more, and they won’t accept that there are things they can’t control.”
It is estimated that, as of today, 50 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s around the world, and if medical and psychological advances are not made in the proximate years, this number is predicted to rise to over 125 million by the year 2050. The University of California Davis’ Alzheimer’s Disease Center is one of the 29 centers in America that conducts clinical research on Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
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| UCD’s Medical Center in Sacramento, Ca. Recovered from the institution’s webpage. |
The programs’ Patient Care Coordinator, Rebekha Alfaro, was kind enough to comment on two autonomous, yet interrelated subjects regarding the disease’s progression. First of all, she exhibited the process that’s followed when conducting this type of scientific research. Shortly afterwards, she gave her outlook on how the movie Still Alice justly portrays the reality that is living with Alzheimer’s and brought up her own experience coping with her best friend’s condition. Here are her words:
Although there’s still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there are treatment options that involve both drug and non-drug approaches, as well as residential facilities for people with an advanced condition. Institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and the Alzheimer’s Association are one of the primary sources of information and ongoing research on the field of this heart-wrenching disease, with several facilities around the United States.
DOCTOR'S ORDER
It might be hard to place ourselves in the shoes of someone battling Alzheimer’s, it might be even more challenging trying to understand what they’re going through, however, Still Alice gives powerful insight on what it’s like to live with this condition and an accurate representation on how it affects those around her. As Dr. Alice Howland brilliantly said:
“My yesterdays are disappearing, and my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live for? I live for each day. I live in the moment. Some tomorrow soon, I'll forget that I stood before you and gave this speech. But just because I'll forget it some tomorrow doesn't mean that I didn't live every second of it today. I will forget today, but that doesn't mean that today doesn't matter.”
And those are words we should all live by.
Trailer: Still Alice
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