First Hit: Powerful acting in a very strong film.
Julianne Moore plays Alice Howland, famous and prestigious linguistic professor at Columbia University, who discovers that she has Familial Alzheimer’s disease which has a 50% chance of being passed on to her children.
Her three children Anna (Kate Bosworth), Tom (Hunter Parrish), and Lydia (Kristen Stewart), all have different relationships with their mother and are accurately testy with each other. Alice’s husband John (Alec-Baldwin) is also at Columbia and is very supportive of his wife’s oncoming illness.
This film is about what happens within this family as Alice’s disease takes ahold of her. The scenes are well done and allow the audience to feel along with both Alice and the others.
Moore is Oscar extraordinary. She delivers on all levels and the ending scene when she utters, says it all. Baldwin is very strong as the loving husband. Bosworth is very good as the know-it-all, professionally focus, and protective of her mother kind of daughter. Parrish was overshadowed by the other actor, but good at times. Stewart delivered. The complex, rebellious and understanding daughter role fit her perfectly. Richard Glatzer wrote this wonderfully compelling script and his own direction with Wash Westmoreland was spot on.
Overall: This was a very good film and the acting sublime.