It says a lot about Julianne Moore’s Oscar-winning performance that, despite being one of the year’s least-seen films with a nominated actor, there was never a question that she would waltz away with the gong. It’s well-deserved, as Moore’s stunning and subtly layered portrayal of a woman suffering Early Onset Alzheimer’s is hugely emotive, placing the audience in the POV of a woman slowly robbed of her identity.
Married couple Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (Quinceanera) direct, and bring a striking empathy and emotional intelligence to Alice’s journey; undoubtedly due to Glatzer’s own struggle with another devastating disease, ALS.
A woman defined by her intelligence, articulation and motherhood, for Alice the threat of having her identity and independence erased – as well as possibly passing on the disease to her children – adds layers of slow-burning fear and loss.
Glatzer and Westmoreland address the importance language and memory play in our sense of self. These losses may not be immediately evident to outsiders. However, they leave Alzheimer’s sufferers feeling isolated and alone.
Alice’s relationship with youngest daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart, magnificent) becomes particularly poignant, as the formerly bickering pair realise how little time they may have left together.