Each weekend a profile on a just-opened Oscar contender. Here's abstew on this weekend's new limited release, the Julianne Moore awards hopeful, STILL ALICE.
Kristen Stewart as Lydia Howland in Still Alice
Born: Kristen Jaymes Stewart was born April 9, 1990 in Los Angeles, California
The Role: Adapted from Lisa Genova's bestselling novel, filmmakers and husbands Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (Quinceañera, The Last of Robin Hood) wrote and direct this film about a 50 year old Columbia linguist professor (Best Actress frontrunner, Julianne Moore) that is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. Stewart plays her daughter, Lydia, the black sheep of the family that moved to LA to become an actress despite her mother's frequent requests for her to go to college. When Alice's mind begins to deteriorate more rapidly, it is Lydia that takes the most responsibility for her mother's health establishing herself as caregiver.
Previous Brushes With Oscar: Stewart has been lauded with multiple MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards. And despite praise for her work in films like Adventureland (2009) and On the Road (2012), Still Alice marks the first film that Stewart has generated serious Oscar buzz for her performance. She has previously appeared in two films nominated for the Academy Award: Sean Penn's Into the Wild (Best Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook and Best Editing) and 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman (Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects). Neither film won in its categories.
What Critics Are Saying:
But the film as a whole functions mainly as a scaffolding for this remarkable feat of acting, and also for Kristen Stewart’s excellent work as Alice’s younger daughter, Lydia. The success of the “Twilight” movies has allowed Ms. Stewart’s gifts to be underrated, but her more recent roles (here, in “ Camp X-Ray” and in “Clouds of Sils Maria,” which will open next year) should help re-establish her as an insightful and unpredictable talent.
-A.O. Scott New York Times
As she demonstrated working with Juliette Binoche in Olivier Assayas' Cannes favorite "Clouds of Sils Maria," Stewart is especially good at going toe to toe and holding her own with veteran actresses, and the intensity she brings to the part of a daughter determined to do things her own way is essential here.
-Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times
That said, there is a smoldering performance to behold. Kristen Stewart plays the Howlands’ problem child, Lydia, who is striving to be an actress...With little to go on in the script here, she establishes a troubled, sulky energy in the would-be actress who feels desperate for her mother. Stewart may be as good as Julianne Moore, and a day should come when they both have Oscars.
-David Thomson New Republic
Kristen Stewart continues to revitalize her image as an actress. “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Camp X-Ray” are terrific examples of her talents put to great use but what she achieves as Lydia, Alice’s youngest daughter is nothing short of spectacular.
-Clayton Davis AwardsCircuit.com
My Take: The Howland family is too perfect to be true. Mr and Mrs Howland both work at Columbia University and reside in a nearby multi-level brownstone. Their oldest daughter is a married lawyer that successfully becomes pregnant with twins the moment she begins fertility treatment and their son is working his way through medical school. Then there's their rebellious youngest daughter, Lydia, bucking tradition and following a path that brings her happiness. She lives in a messy LA apt complex populated with fellow struggling actors and works her way through pay-to-play productions in local theatres. She doesn't fit in with the rest of the family. Which is probably why when her mother's disease no longer fits into the family's idyllic existence, it is Lydia that forms the closest bond. Already knowing what it's like to be an outsider in her own family, Lydia connects with her mother in new ways and through her compassion for her condition establishes the film's strongest relationship. Moore has an excellent partner in Stewart who takes what the older actress gives her and matches her beat for beat, establishing a tender and real mother/daughter dynamic. Previously the younger actress' nervous energy had a tendency to become fidgety onscreen, her tics and constant lip-biting a distraction. With Still Alice, Stewart finally seems comfortable in her skills as an actress, bringing a mature confidence and charismatic swagger. Using stillness to strengthen and settle the scenes, the camera can linger on her face, allowing us a glimpse at her inner life and hinting at the exciting actress that Stewart is becoming.
Fun Fact: Julianne Moore isn't the first Oscar nominee to play Stewart's mother. The actress' motherly co-stars have included Oscar nominated actresses Patricia Clarkson (The Safety of Objects), Jodie Foster (Panic Room), and Sharon Stone (Cold Creek Manor). And both of Stewart's real-life parents are in the industry as well. Her father is a stage manager and television producer and her mother is a script supervisor.
Probability of a Nomination: Slight Possibility. Ever since the Twilight franchise, coupled with her relationship with co-star Robert Pattinson, the media turned Stewart into a tabloid staple and it became very easy to forget that she was once a promising actress that worked with the likes of David Fincher. (All those Razzies sure didn't help either.) But free of the vampire films, this was the year Stewart, with 3 different indies, has shown that she is ready to be taken seriously as an actress again, impressing critics with her natural ability. There's no doubt that Julianne Moore is getting a nomination for this film (it's really the only reason the film is being talked about) and Sony Pictures Classics has stated they plan on mounting a campaign for Stewart as well. If the Academy is feeling generous in their love for the film, Stewart could squeeze her way in. But the role is a little too small, she could've used a couple more scenes for her to be a serious threat for a nomination. But if anything, the film is setting the groundwork for more prestigious work to come and future Oscar talk.
Still Alice opened in NY and LA yesterday for a week qualifying run. It will return to those cities on January 16 and gradually expand.