Still Alice Information

Still Alice is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on Lisa Genova's 2007 bestselling novel of the same name. The film stars Julianne Moore in the role of Alice, a Columbia cognitive psychologist diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. Alec Baldwin plays her husband John. Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish play her children Lydia, Anna, and Tom.

The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2014.

Plot

Dr. Alice Howland learns that she is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease. She struggles to manage her life while dealing with the illness and her job, marriage and children.

Cast

• Julianne Moore as Dr. Alice Howland
• Alec Baldwin as John Howland
• Kristen Stewart as Lydia Howland
• Kate Bosworth as Anna Howland-Jones
• Hunter Parrish as Tom Howland
• Shane McRae as Charlie Jones
• Stephen Kunken as Benjamin
• Victoria Cartagena as Professor Hooper
• Seth Gilliam as Frederic Johnson
• Daniel Gerroll as Eric Wellman
• Erin Darke as Jenny
• Kristin Macomber as Anne

Production

The film was produced by Lex Lutzus and James Brown of Lutzus/Brown along with Pamela Koffler of Killer Films. It was executive produced by American journalist and author Maria Shriver along with Christine Vachon of Killer Films.

Principal photography began in New York on March 3, 2014. Scenes were shot at 162nd Street between Edgecombe and Amsterdam in New York as well as at Columbia University, Lido Beach, New York and Dobbs Ferry, New York. Filming wrapped in early April.

On July 22, 2014, with the announcement of film's premiere at TIFF, the first still of Julianne Moore as Dr. Alice Howland from the film was released.

Release

Sony Pictures Classics bought the US distribution rights for the film in a low seven figure deal that was announced on September 11, 2014. SPC gave the film a one week qualifying run for the Oscars in December 2014, with plans for a wider theatrical release on January 16, 2015.

Piracy

The film was leaked onto peer-to-peer file sharing websites on November 27, over a month ahead of its intended public release. Along with it came Fury and three other at-the-time unreleased Sony Pictures films (Annie, Mr. Turner, and To Write Love on Her Arms).

Reception

Still Alice premiered at TIFF to positive reviews with emphasis on Julianne Moore's performance in the titular role. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 87% based on currently 31 reviews from critics with an average rating of 7.5 out of 10. On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film holds a score of '71' based on 5 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'. The National Board of Review Awards listed Still Alice as one of the top ten independent films of 2014.

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote in a positive review that, "-shooting things in such a way that activity is constantly spilling beyond the edges of the frame, giving the impression that characters"? lives continue when they"?re not on camera, even as Alice"?s seems to be closing in around her. Just as her kids look for ever-fainter signs of their mother behind those eyes, we lean in to watch Moore the actress turn invisible within her own skin."

Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "warm, compassionate, but bitingly honest" and that Julianne Moore had a "career-high performance." Young also praised the direction of the film, "-the directors tackle a subject where a restrained, understated approach is the best insurance against sloppy sentimentality. It pays off handsomely in the film"?s closing moments, a poignant, poetic confrontation between the generations that draws the best from Moore and reveals unexpected depth in Stewart."

Gregory Ellwood of Hitfix praised Moore, "In each scene she peels a little bit more of Alice away as the emotional pain of the disease takes its toll..." Ellwood also praised the direction,"The duo behind the critically acclaimed Quinceaera let the film's narrative unspool in as restrained a manner as possible. There are no unbelievable hysterics. There are no self-aware screaming matches."

Tim Grierson of Screen International praised the understated direction and Moore, as well as Baldwin, Stewart, and Bosworth's supporting work: "Baldwin is particularly good as an ambitious medical researcher who is losing not just his wife but also a woman who was as driven as he was." And adding that, "With nuance, Bosworth and Stewart both play women who seem to have been profoundly shaped by their impressive mother, and we feel the characters"? confusion at having her influence suddenly ripped away from them (Stewart especially shines, initially playing a prototypical starving-artist type who surprises her family by her response to Alice"?s diagnosis)."

Awards

List of Accolades
Award / Film Festival	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
24th Gotham Independent Film Awards	Best Actress	Julianne Moore
30th Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	Julianne Moore
18th Hollywood Film Awards	Hollywood Actress Award	Julianne Moore
86th National Board of Review Awards	Best Actress	Julianne Moore
26th Palm Springs International Film Festival	Desert Palm Achievement Award	Julianne Moore
19th Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture	Julianne Moore
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Julianne Moore
Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Actress	Julianne Moore