Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland adapted “Still Alice” from a novel by Lisa Genova. But had I not known that going in, I would have assumed the film was based on a play.
The directors shoot the film with a gentle, soft, and unobtrusive light. The lines flow nicely. The scenes feel distinct and compartmentalized. Heck, the film even ends by literally ripping out the final page from “Angels in America,” one of the American dramatic classics!
What ultimately separates “Still Alice” from the stage, however, is the masterfully detailed performance of Julianne Moore. She stars as Alice Howland, a 50-year-old linguistics professor stricken with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and the camera-eye of the cinema is necessary to observe her slow deterioration. Since seeing the decay of her brain is impossible, her illness has to manifest itself in the tiniest twitches of Moore’s face.
Like fellow 2014 release “The Theory of Everything,” which followed a physical rather than a mental degeneration, “Still Alice” derives its very narrative motion from discerning which faculty will disappear next. In other words, the filmmakers invite gaping and marveling at the technically proficient acting on display behind the figurative glass cage of the screen. The film plays almost as suspenseful in its measured anticipation of a firm break from reality by Alice, and credit Moore for turning in a performance so gentle and full of integrity that her character’s normalcy inspires unease.
9:43 P.M. Channing Tatum’s fake tan seems a little overdone tonight.
9:39 P.M. Michael Keaton’s son that he referenced in the speech, Sean Douglas, is a songwriter whose credits include Jason DeRulo’s “Talk Dirty.” Umm … well, that’s probably paying the bills.
9:34 P.M. Keaton thanks the HFPA for having a “comedy” category, but how much does it really celebrate comedies?! Anyways, nice to see someone as articulate and underrated as Keaton get some recognition.
9:33 P.M.BEST ACTOR (MUSICAL/COMEDY): MICHAEL KEATON, “BIRDMAN“
9:25 P.M. Richard Linklater: “We’re all flawed in this world, no one’s perfect.”
9:24 P.M. BEST DIRECTOR: RICHARD LINKLATER, “BOYHOOD“
9:15 P.M. Pretty sure McConaughey is sweating through his shirt. His jacket was definitely off.
9:14 P.M. George Clooney: “Thanks for keeping small films alive.”
9:12 P.M. Props to Disney for getting a clip from “Tomorrowland” into the Clooney montage.
9:08 P.M. Julianna Marguiles: “Has George ever asked you to tour a disaster area with him?” / Don Cheadle: “Yes, he invited me to the set of ‘The Monuments Men!'”
9:00 P.M. Hard to believe that two-time Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey is only just now winning his first Golden Globe.
8:55 P.M. The backstage/hall cam is pretty awkward…
8:54 P.M. “House of Cards” snubbed once again. “The Affair” was horribly derivative in the one episode I watched.
8:46 P.M. Well, maybe Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Honorable Woman” will have to go on my Netflix queue. Here’s the link for anyone who wants to add it as well. I enjoy the sibling love with her and Jake, and I especially love her shoutout to the “actual women.” Basically, here’s my takeaway from tonight’s show:
8:44 P.M. Ok, is that how “Leviathan” is pronounced, all French like Lupita Nyong’o said it? I assumed it was “Luh-vie-uh-than.”
8:28 P.M. Anyone else noting how much the people on stage are sweating? The AC has to be broken or something…
8:27 P.M. No proclaiming that Hader and Wiig were the stars of “The Skeleton Twins?” Come on…
8:26 P.M. Ok, the North Korean jokes are getting old. It’s just kind of insensitive and monotonous at this point.
8:22 P.M. Full text of the George Clooney feminist joke, thanks to BuzzFeed.
“George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an adviser to Kofi Annan regarding Syria, and was selected to a three-person U.N. commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”
8:21 P.M. Patricia Arquette: “Meryl, thank you for giving me a hug, I hope your DNA transferred.” Also, glad to see the winning women standing up for women of all varieties.
8:19 P.M. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PATRICIA ARQUETTE, “BOYHOOD“
8:16 P.M. When they said Channing Tatum was in three nominated films tonight, I thought it must have been a flubbed line. But two of those were animated – “The Book of Life” and “The Lego Movie.”
8:13 P.M. Kevin Hart: “I’m here for this, it’s not about ‘The Wedding Ringer.'” Yeah, sure…
8:07 P.M. Nice feminist moment for Amy Adams as she racks up back-to-back Golden Globe wins. Not her best role or film, but she’s just so sweet and likable, darn it!
7:55 P.M. That could not possibly have been more awkward cutting between the shot of John Legend’s wife and the cutaway to Prince. “Selma is now,” said Common. Glad to see he also expressed solidarity with the two NYPD officers slain in the line of duty.
7:43 P.M. Too bad for Eddie Redmayne that the bomb that will be “Jupiter Ascending” drops on theaters as he’s trying to win an Oscar … Focus should ask WB to pull these trailers from awards broadcasts.
7:37 P.M. Bummer to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus go down. “Veep” is my favorite show … shameless plug.
7:35 P.M. Great to see artists stand up and cheer for freedom of expression.
7:33 P.M. Pretty shameless attempt to recreate the Ellen selfie…
Needed more people to top Ellen…
7:30 P.M. I just realized that I totally forgot a category…
7:26 P.M. Potentially the best speech ever from Billy Bob Thornton. “You get in trouble for anything you say these days, so I’m just gonna say thank you.”
7:25 P.M. Ouch for the “True Detective” shutout. Have to say, I agree (even though I have not watched “Fargo”). The show was overrated.
7:22 P.M. Ok, these rapid-fire show descriptions are not helpful.
7:22 P.M. Jennifer Lopez looking like she might have a wardrobe malfunction/nip slip.
7:17 P.M. Glad Joanne Froggat is shedding light on the plight of sexual assault survivors. This is such a great platform to spread awareness to important causes. Bonus points for doing it without ranting or preaching.
7:14 P.M. Miles Teller getting some nice notice in front of the entire industry. And gotta love all the Jason Reitman love!
7:12 P.M. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. SIMMONS, “WHIPLASH“
7:12 P.M. So did they actually flub the teleprompter? Was it actually spontaneous?
7:11 P.M. Hello, Jennifer Aniston’s leg.
7:09 P.M. Aaaand there’s the Bill Cosby joke.
7:07 P.M. Would you rather, Linklater or Iñarritu? “Once, five minutes per year” vs. “One take, two hours, no stopping.” Brilliant.
7:06 P.M. Tina Fey just dropped the mic for working women everywhere. Bravo.
7:04 P.M. A joke I could not type in real time – “Boyhood proves there’s still good roles for women over 40 when you get hired in your 20’s.”
7:03 P.M. Hi, Joaquin Phoenix! You da man!
7:03 P.M. Back off Emma Stone, she’s gorgeous!
7:01 P.M. Starting off with jokes on the Sony hack and the leaked emails – great, I guess, since Angelina Jolie isn’t there.
6:55 P.M. Since I’m running short on time, I’ll just post projected winners with alternates – and save my should win/be nominated picks for the Oscars live blog! Classic cliffhanger…
Best Song: Big Eyes from “Big Eyes” (alt. Glory from “Selma“)
6:20 P.M. Well, running a little late due to packing, but I’m ready to start the constant glueing of my eyes to the TV and computer screen. I’m looking forward to a hilarious ceremony that hopefully features some deserving winners! I’m not necessarily pulling strongly for a single movie, so I guess I’m Team Boyhood.
Marshall and the Movies 
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