Written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on the novel of the same name by Lisa Genova, the film stars Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, and Kristen Stewart. Alice Howland (Moore) is a world-renowned linguistics expert and professor at Columbia University. In addition to a successful professional life, she also has a supportive husband, John (Baldwin) and three great children (Bosworth, Hunter Parrish, Stewart). Her world is turned upside down when her seemingly small lapses of memory turn into a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimers. At only fifty years old, Alice must cope with the reality that her mind will rapidly slip away from her, and her ordeal profoundly affects her family as well. Julianne Moore is a shoo-in to win Best Actress at tonight's Academy Awards, and although this Oscar will be as much a lifetime achievement award (this is her fifth nomination) as an individual performance prize, I do believe that she is the most deserving among the five nominees. Although I'm not sure this is her best performance of all time (she is a phenomenal actress, after all), her portrayal of Alice is nuanced but completely heartbreaking. Her transformation as Alice's condition deteriorates is remarkable, and even though hers is a transformation of the mind, not the body (such as Eddie Redmayne's in The Theory of Everything), that doesn't make it any less challenging, and thus a huge feat to accomplish. As for the film itself, its a real tearjerker, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was well-written and very believable, though I probably wouldn't watch it again because it's too sad. It wasn't an unforgettable masterpiece, something you've never seen before that just blows you away, but it's a very poignant and moving film.
Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B+
No comments:
Post a Comment