Still Alice by Glatzer, Westmoreland - Essay Example

Still Alice Introduction The movie that is d Still Alice tells a story of a renowned philologist who suffers from early onset familial Alzheimers disease. This film raises may important question regarding what it feels to struggle with this disease from the person as well as for one’s relatives. This paper will provide a detailed analysis of different scenes from the movie and show how they are related to the general message. First encounter during the lecture It would not be a mistake to suggest that the directors did not portray their character with Alzheimers disease from the very beginning. That is why for a certain amount of time the audience waits when the early signs of it will be visible. Thus, one of the first scenes shows the main character giving a lecture about her work. This is clearly a big honor for everyone who is present. However, during the lecture, Alice (Julianne Moore) forgets a word. This is rather surprising for such a smart woman as she. So, to win some time she jokes about having an extra glass of champagne. However, even after several seconds she can not remember the necessary word; so, she uses a synonym: the word she forgot was lexicon and she said word stock. This is quite an important scene as it shows that Alice is still able to use the majority of her mental resources and can fight the early symptoms. Playing Words with friends Several times during the movie Alice is seen playing a mobile application that is called Words with friends. This element serves several significant functions. First of all, it situates Alice in the environment of ‘normal’ people who are able to use their brain to its fullest to play abstract games. Later in the movie she tells her daughter that she has developed an obsession with this game. One might see a considerable amount of irony here since as her disease progresses, she will no longer be able to carry on what she liked a lot. In other words, other people who did not use their brain so much should not feel such a tragedy in the disease that she was diagnosed with. Finally, this very game might also be seen as a measurement of her mental potential. Thus, in the very beginning of the movie Alice is seen forming a word Hadj (Islamic ritual pilgrimage). There is no doubt that few people who are not Muslims know this word. This shows that Alice is quite intelligent. However, at the end of the film the best word she is able to come up with in the game is tone. This might be regarded as a clear sign of her mental degradation. Family history During the first interview of neurologist, the latter asks Alice about her family. She reveals that her father died of cirrhosis. Having heard this the doctor asks a legitimate question: “What was it like towards the end?”. Alice finds the word very quickly and the word is incoherent. In spite of the fact that she and her father were struggling with completely different diseases the end for them was the same: they turned into individuals who were incoherent. Nevertheless, the cause of this tragedy is not the same: Alice’s father was an alcoholic and is practically responsible for his condition while his daughter is just a victim. This might be regarded as an element of foreshadowing that the directors used to show was Alice will be like towards the end of the movie. Denial – the first stage of grief There is no doubt that being diagnosed with Alzheimers disease is a traumatic experience for a person. That is why it is logical that the main character would show signs of the behavior which is witnessed when people are trying to cope with something extraordinary. Thus, at first Alice denies that she has a problem. Indeed, she sees the neurologist secretly and she does not tell about the outcome of her interviews anyone. She probably thinks that by doing so, she is able to prove that there is nothing to be worried about. In addition to that she does not want her relatively to worry about her. The denial is even stronger when the doctor asks her to bring a relative with her for the next visit. Alice refuses to do so and the doctor insists. Therefore, the main character tries to protect her family from the ugly truth that she will inevitable have to face no matter how hard she tries to hide it. The disease is almost revealed There is a peculiar time in the film when Alice acknowledges that she has a problem, but still conceals it. She does her best to train her brain (for example, writes some words on the chalk board and remembers them) or uses technology to conceal that she forgets something. One evening her husband and she are talking and the former asks her a question, but Alice casually answers that she does not remember. She does it while washing a dish, hoping that the husband does not notice it. The audience also does not want the other people to know that Alice starts forgetting simple things; so, the next question that her husband asks is really disturbing. While watching his wife washing the same dish again and again, he exclaims: “How long are you going to keep up that thing?” It is obvious that Alice thinks that her acting is reveals and she will have to answer about her disease, but, surprisingly enough, the question was simply about the dish. Anger - the second stage of grief Just like any other person Alice is not able to cope with the secret that she suffers from and one night she moves to the second stage of grieving which is anger. She can not sleep well and wakes her husband in the middle of the night. She tells him horrible things, practically summing up the plot of the movie in a simple sentence: “I feel that my brain is f****** dying and everything that I worked for is going away”. This reveals the real problem for the character: she is not afraid to die, she does not want to lose the mental potential that she has. However, after yelling at her husband, she starts crying suddenly, suggesting that she is not angry, she is just helpless and she is not able to cope with the problem herself. That is why after this difficult talk she brings her husband to the neurologist. This shows that for the people who struggling with this disease the support of the family is extremely important. Taking care of the children The peculiarity of the disease that Alice was diagnosed with lies in the fact that it is a familial one. Unlike many people nowadays, the main character has three children. She deliberately asks the doctor about the chances of passing the disease further to them. He reveals that while the changes are moderate (50/50), the chance that a child will develop disease if the gene is passes is hundred percent certain. The difficult talk with the children reveals several important peculiarities in the communication with them. Thus, the husband does not want the children to know about it, but it is Alice who changes the subject and reveals the difficult truth. Having heard about it, she asks for forgiveness even though no tests are done yet. Alice feels guilty for passing the gene despite the fact that she was not able to prevent it from happening in any way. Being a good mother, she thinks that she is responsible for this. Using illness to her advantage After the entire family knows about the disease of Alice, the latter carries on living and even uses it as excuse. Indeed, on the early stages she is able to use the majority of her mental potential, but occasionally forget some thing. Thus, during one jogging, she decides to enjoy little things and have her favorite ice cream. She orders it and spends an entire evening eating it slowing, looking through the window and, probably, remembering some important events from her past. It is clear that Alice enjoys this evening as she was able to find some time for herself and her memories. However, when she comes home she learns that her husband and she had arranged a dinner with another couple. The husband is angry with Alice, but she simply replies that she can hardly blame her as she has Alzheimers disease. Recording the suicide instruction It would not be a mistake to suggest that one of the most tragic moments of the movie is the part when Alice records an instruction how to commit a suicide after she reached later stages of the disease. At first when she records it she looks beautiful and confident. However, when the time comes and she watches the video the camera shows how much she changed: she is no longer as beautiful and confident, she is just another broken person who does not know what to do with her live. The symbolism of the butterfly Several times in the movie the image of butterfly occurs. First of all, Alice names a folder on her desktop this name, putting there a video instruction how to commit suicide. At first the audience may wonder why this name was chosen, but later this is all explained. Afterwards, Alice finds a necklace with a little butterfly that was in one of her drawers. She starts wearing it and does not take off until the end of the movie. Finally, the significance of the butterfly is revealed in one of the talks with the daughter. Alice says that it she was really surprised having learned that some butterflies live a very short life, but she thinks that this live is very bright. One might conclude that this is the symbol of her life as well: she was the early onset of Alzheimers disease, but she was able to live a bright life; so, she does not feel sorry. Conclusion Having examined all the scenes which were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: the movie Still Alice tells a story of a person who struggles with memory impairment and reveals different aspects of this disease. The directors were able to come up with a perfect metaphor that describes the life of the main character: she was like a butterfly that lived a short, but bright and pleasant life. Read More