Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Theatrical review. There are a couple reasons why this film hasn't been seen by most movie-goers. First, it didn't get much of a distribution and second, it deals with Alzheimer's disease. With Julianne Moore's recent and well-deserved Oscar win, I suspect more people will seek it out. And they should. Moore plays a successful 50 year old linguistics professor at Columbia University in New York. Her husband John (Alec Baldwin), is a highly regarded medical doctor (research) and the couple has the perfect family. A son, Tom (Hunter Parrish from TV's "Weeds") is also a doctor, Anna (Kate Bosworth) is a lawyer, newly preggers and married to a perfect man. And then there is the renegade youngest daughter, Lydia (excellent Kristen Stewart) who has shunned college for an acting career in L. A. Oh, the horror. I suspect this beautiful family portrait was no accident, setting up a life defining tragedy when Alice (Moore) begins to forget words and getting lost on campus. It turns out she has early onset Alzheimer's and it is a rare, quickly progressing form. Lydia returns to New York and the family circles the wagons, realizing everything is going to change quickly. The scripting is fairly simple and therefore relies heavily on Moore's acting ability to transform Alice from a brilliant lecturer to someone lost in her own mind. It is an amazing performance as Alice maintains her grace as long as she can. She creates her own little mind games to judge her capabilities and even creates a video to guide herself when she no longer has control. It is devastating and emotionally heartbreaking. Still, I think the filmmakers, including the ALS stricken director, Richard Glatzer and his partner Wash Westmoreland, wanted to provide information to the audience more than they were interested in making us shed tears. I never felt manipulated by the story, although the musical score might suggest as much. The key is Moore's ability define Alice and her opportunity to control her destiny as long as she can. While the exchanges between her and her family are important, it is equally important to watch Moore as she moves about her routine in complete silence. It is a mesmerizing performance. The film was shot quickly and cheaply and sometimes it shows. But there is no taking away from the fine performances and the important message the film delivers.