Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested.
Still Alice is anchored by Julianne Moore's exceptional, Oscar-winning performance as Alice Howland, which elevates the material considerably. The portrayal of Alzheimer's progression is intimate and unflinching, earning Moore the industry's top accolade. The plot follows a fairly familiar disease-drama arc — diagnosis, decline, family strain — without major narrative surprises, though it is handled with sensitivity. Cinematography is competent and restrained, favoring close-ups to track Alice's deterioration but not particularly distinguished. Novelty is modest; while the film's focus on a linguistics professor losing language is a meaningful ironic touch, the overall framework is a well-worn prestige drama template. The ending is quietly devastating rather than dramatically conclusive, which feels honest but may leave some viewers wanting more resolution.