Still Alice, Alzheimers Neurological Disease, Brain Deterioration

Still Alice- Alzheimer’s Disease
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Still Alice- Alzheimer’s Disease
As with many other progressive and chronic diseases, Alzheimer’s disease has an emotional impact on both the afflicted person but also the people around the person. Since Alzheimer’s is a neurological disease in nature that causes brain deterioration, memory loss, as well as loss of motor functions, automatically means that the patient needs one or more caregivers. These caregivers are usually friends and families of the afflicted person. In the movie, Still Alice - Alzheimer’s disease, Julianne Moore plays the lead character, portraying an Alzheimer’s patient who is diagnosed after her 50th birthday. The movie narrates the story of the main character who is an esteemed professor after the diagnosis and her experience as she gradually begins to lose herself to the disease. The fact that Alzheimer’s is more prevalent in women than men brings out some truth in the character as the movie puts more focus on the woman, making the story appear real. Despite the fact Hollywood has not always been able to present facts when depicting Alzheimer's disease and dementia accurately, this film shows a shift in this trend regarding creativity of people behind it. The outcome is a better attempt at truthfully representing not just the issues but also the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. It is for this reason that the film has received attention from healthcare circles, therefore, receiving accolades from organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association. This movie review puts more focus on the different ways in which this film portrays accurate symptoms of the Alzheimer’s condition as well as those that are inaccurately described.
By many accounts, Moore’s depiction of the prosperous professor, Alice Howland was perfect for portraying the loss of dignity and the frustrations that come along with this distressing disease as it continues to advance. This movie explores the reactions of the people around her to the unexpected changes in Alice’s health as well as the continuing destruction and hurt from the patient's point of view. When other movies only choose to focus on the later stages of the disease, Still Alice brings in a different view, showing the viewer the initial stages of the disease and how the family and close friends react to the diagnosis. This coupled with the unique way in which the viewer is able to see these effects from Alice’s view brings out the realism and accuracy in regards to the disease. According to Ogden (2005), Julian Moore is quite successful when she plays the part regarding how she captures the early stages of interrupted thought symptoms and memory of the disease, as well as the subsequent denial followed by attempts at gaining control of oneself, and lastly grace and solace. Another feature that shows how accurate the film was is focusing on the woman. The fact that the Alzheimer’s disease disproportionately affects more women th...