Notes on seeing "Still Alice"

Today I saw the movie, Still Alice, which is based on the novel by the same name by Lisa Genova, a neuroscientist who originally self-published the book. I first heard of the movie when I listened to the Diane Ream's show that focused on the movie and the issues of early onset Alzheimer’s that the movie raises. I am personally connected to the issue of Alzheimer’s and I am also interested in the movie as a person who researches how people with invisible disabilites, and especially neurological conditions, manage the task of building relationships or maintaining relationships.

I was surprised by the role genetics played in the movie because for most people, and for most cases of Alzheimer’s, genetics does not play a hard-and-fast deterministic role. The complex interplay between environment, behaviors and genetics was nearly absent in the movie because of the particular type of familial early onset Alzheimer’s the main character deals with.

I strongly recommend this movie to anyone who knows someone with a neurological condition because it is told from the perspective of the person with the condition, and this voice is too often the last one listened to.