Alzheimer’s disease only happens to old people! Or does it? On the one hand, thanks

to the Baby Boomer generation, getting older is being redefined - where suddenly, people

in their fifties, sixties and even seventies don’t seem that different from the rest

of us. Then there’s early-onset Alzheimer’s, where the disease takes hold before the age

of sixty-five. While that only accounts for ten percent or less of all Alzheimer’s cases,

it’s still out there, lurking. In fact, as the big two - cancer and AIDS - become

more and more manageable, Hollywood is beginning to turn an eye towards these other illnesses

which are no less devastating - and flourishing as we continue to live longer. So Still Alice,

based on the best selling first novel by neuroscientist Lisa Genova, tells the story of Dr Alice Howland

- a professor at Columbia who’s married with three older children, only to discover

she’s been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. Julianne Moore, fifty-four, stars and Still

Alice has contributed to a boffo year for the actress. She’s double nominated at the

Golden Globes for Still Alice and David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars - winning for this movie

Alice - plus she also co-starred as President Coin in The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1.

She’s been nominated four times for an Oscar, but never won - which could really help her

chances this year. It’s also interesting to see director-writer duo Richard Glatzer

and Wash Westmoreland - who are also married - go from Lifetime’s first feature The Last

of Robin Hood to a film that’s a strong awards contender - at least for Moore’s

turn. But hey, still, all these nominations are sure to help the pair move forward with

their next feature. Not bad considering Westmoreland’s first big hit was the gay porn film Naked

Highway, which swept the porn awards circuit way back in 1997. See? You never know where

life is going to take you, and Still Alice shows it can take you places that are both

wonderful, for Westmoreland...and terrifying, for Moore’s Dr

Alice Howland...