STILL ALICE - 1 nomination

Actress in a Leading Role - Julianne Moore

Still Alice is the amazing film about its lead character (played by Julianne Moore) who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  She has spent her life as a linguistics professor, so the cruelty of losing her words and language is not lost on us - Moore wrestles so brilliantly with the variety of emotions facing her character, and we easily empathize with her plight.  Equal to the challenge of coping with Alzheimer's, is the awareness that it is a genetic disease for which at least one of her children has tested positive.  Watching her family members navigate their way through coping with caring for Alice, we blame, we judge, and we appreciate the care that they give her and the unconditional love that surrounds her.  Alzheimer's is such a cruel disease plaguing not only the person who has it but all of the people in her life, as well, and this film does such a wonderful job of showing each painful and funny moment.

Julianne Moore is nominated for Best Actress, and it is no surprise that she has swept the awards for which she has been nominated.  She manages to portray all of the emotions and challenges one would expect from a woman in that situation - fear, frustration, anger, sadness, and even occasional bouts of good humor, and sometimes, all of these at once.  This film is a multi-tissue kind of film, so when you watch it - as you must - bring a box for everyone.