Still Alice: Oscar Home Run

Julianne Moore takes the dramatic role of a lifetime as a former Columbia Linguistics professor suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease. You follow the journey from the earliest of symptoms until her memory is a real struggle, forgetting her children's names and needing help getting dressed. For anyone who has experienced when this happens to a loved one it's heartbreaking. It hits too close to home as Moore's portrayal is spot-on. She's almost too good. Alec Baldwin is rock steady as her husband as he tries to figure out how to balance career vs. care for her. Kristen Stewart plays a daughter (she has a great agent), Kate Bosworth as another daughter, and Hunter Parrish (Silas from Weeds is the only thing he's done) round out the cast. It's simplistic and carried by the strength of Moore's performance and the brutally honest story that follows someone who suffers from a deteriorating disease. There's little humor or fun, just brutal reality. There are a few peaks of the pain and sadness that really rip your heart out, but it doesn't bend reality for feel-good moments. Bottom Line: 8.3 out of 10. Probably rated lower than I should just because it tears your heart out, but worth watching just to see Moore knock the role out of the park. It's a career role and she gets everything out of it possible.