X
- 2023
- R
- Apple Original Films
- 1 h 35 m
- 2023
- R
- Apple Original Films
- 1 h 35 m
Summary The improbable tale of a short kid from a Canadian army base who became the darling of 1980s Hollywood — only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
Directed By: Davis Guggenheim
Written By: Michael J. Fox
- 2023
- R
- Apple Original Films
- 1 h 35 m
- 2023
- R
- Apple Original Films
- 1 h 35 m
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
78
8.2
Where to Watch
Summary The improbable tale of a short kid from a Canadian army base who became the darling of 1980s Hollywood — only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
Directed By: Davis Guggenheim
Written By: Michael J. Fox
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
78
97% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
78
97% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The movie is not demanding anyone feel that way nor straining to jerk tears out of its audience. It is matter-of-fact, even when those facts aren’t necessarily flattering to its subject.
There are life lessons here to be learned and shared, for sure. But the film moves with such thrilling pacing it feels more like a celebration.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 26 User Ratings
8.2
92% Positive
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
8% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 26 User Ratings
8.2
92% Positive
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
8% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Watching Still: A Michael J Fox Story can be disconcerting at first. If you grew up in the 80s, the only thing higher on the pop-culture charts than Selleck’s mustache was Michael J Fox’s charming smile. And it was everywhere, too. From Family Ties to Back to the Future to Teen Wolf to Doc Hollywood. He was smooth. He was witty. An all-encompassing joi de vive packed into five-feet-four-inches of energy.
Now, after 30 years of battling the crippling effects of Parkinson’s Disease, Michael is bent over. His arms jitter; legs wobble. His speech is slurred. This is not a vibrant Marty McFly at 62. The sight of an unshaven, unkempt Fox is more than a little disheartening. But Still was not made out of pity. This is not a Hollywood tell-all tale of woe. Still is a celebration. Michael remains funny, he is loved, and although known for comedy, is now a determined fighter.
Still is a magnificent story of inspiration, vulnerability, and kick-ass determination. This one deserves to be seen.
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Legendary documentarian Davis Guggenheim takes on the rollercoaster of Michael J. Fox with "Still," a biographical picture that could have very easily been you're mopey, tropey slog through the real misery that life can throw at us. As Fox himself says, however, "that's boring." This is a frank, honest and frequently hilarious look at one man's unique perspective on his own struggle, featuring some truly innovative and enthralling editing/framing choices. What they do with the reenactments here is probably the best approach I've ever seen in a documentary, with the blend between archival footage and recreation rendered functionally seamless. Then, of course, you have the subject himself — Fox, with all of his wit, openness and heart. I know part of the point of this movie is to deconstruct the idea behind what it means to be an "inspiration," but I'll be damned if I didn't walk away feeling motivated and just better overall. Really beautiful work here.
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The real revelations, however, lie in the depiction of Fox’s family life, most notably his marriage to actor Tracy Pollan, who first won his heart by calling him “a complete fucking asshole”, and whose unswerving love leaves him all but speechless when he’s asked what she means to him, save for one word: “Clarity”.
All of this is interesting, in varying degrees. But watching and listening to Fox talk is magnetic.
Still is a solid reminder of why Fox is a magnetic camera presence and why he continues to be beloved, both as an actor and an activist for Parkinson’s research. As rote as many celebrity navel-gazing documentaries have become, it’s refreshing to see a film that can still find the strengths of the format.
Fox’s resolve, his ever-sharp wit and acuity, more than mitigates what’s not entirely useful in Guggenheim’s filmmaking approach.
Perhaps Fox and the film itself don’t quite put us inside his anguish at first getting the diagnosis and then his decision to go public, but his courage is the more moving for being understated.
Este documentário poderia perfeitamente ser premiado pela edição. Absolutamente fantástica.
Temos um Michael Fox como narrador em um plano bem convencional, mas felizmente a câmera não se demora nele, não se mantendo conservadora. Logo de início, o filme já apresenta o veterano ator andando nas ruas com a doença, que lhe oferece limitações físicas impactantes. Sem usar do melodrama, o filme ganha um contorno autoconsciente ao focar no cotidiano e nos impactos psicológicos da doença.
Então o filme regride para a infância e adolescência de Fox, um garoto muito a baixo da estatura média dos seus pares que acaba se destacando por fazer rir.
É interessante ver que o roteiro tenta criar narrativas positivas mas sem soar como autoajuda, utiliza-se de um texto leve e de muito humor para simplesmente aceitar as fatalidades e circunstâncias da vida, como por exemplo, o fato de que ele, por ser baixo, conseguiria diversos papéis interpretando crianças.
Mas aí o domínio de edição toma conta, e que show! A vida de Fox vai sendo narrado usando trechos de suas produções, e alguns diálogos casam tão bem com a apresentação de Fox que chega a ser espantoso, um trabalho excelente de pesquisa e escolha de cenas. A parte do "De volta para o futuro" ficou realmente espetacular, bem como acompanhar sua ascensão.
Pena que o filme se demora a chegar no Fox atual, e quando o faz, não se aprofunda na doença. Ainda assim, o trabalho de edição continua empolgante, para quem curte cinema e as séries dos anos 1980/90, é uma delícia assistir a uma história com o selo de qualidade nostálgico.
Sem dúvida um documentário bem humano, que não trata Fox como vítima, ao mesmo tempo que é complacente com o Fox bem sucedido na carreira. A parte em que mostra algumas críticas negativas, o filme atribuiu aos impactos dos remédios e todo o peso mental a que Fox teve de suportar, o que achei deveras limitante. Ou seja, tirando o fato de que o roteiro optou pela facilidade de explicações, o filme tem uma montagem e uma edição beirando a perfeição, mantendo o interesse até o final, aliás, um final singelo e esperançoso, fugindo dos apelos piegas, o que por si só já é um grande convite a conferir a obra.
Report
In the 1980s, actor Michael J. Fox burst onto the entertainment scene as one of the decade’s mega-stars with the success of his hit TV show Family Ties and a string of popular movies, most notably the iconic sci-fi comedy, “Back to the Future” (1985). Before long, he was seemingly everywhere all at once, a fitting development for someone who had lived his life like that from the time he was a child. This frenetic pace of living had followed him for so long, in fact, that he never learned how to be, as this film’s title suggests, still. In 1990, however, he received a medical diagnosis that nearly stopped him in his tracks – he was discovered to be suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, an illness that usually strikes in old age, not someone on his late 20s. It forced him to take stock of himself and his life, though he tried desperately (and surprisingly successfully) to conceal it for years thereafter. His unwillingness to confront the truth about his condition continued a practice that he had been carrying out in other areas of his life for years, his hectic, distracted way of living keeping him in denial and, sadly, giving him a reason to drown himself in alcohol. But he couldn’t continue living that way forever as the disease began to take its course, his illness serving as a much-needed wake-up call to get real. Based on the title character’s writings, director Davis Guggenheim’s latest documentary feature tells the protagonist’s story using an inventive combination of archive footage, interviews with Fox, actor-based re-creations of incidents from his life and footage from his treatment sessions that candidly depict how far his condition has progressed. There are also a number of sequences in which his story is told through fittingly poignant clips from his movie and TV projects, ironically reminding us that art can indeed imitate life. All of these elements combine to present a compelling and touching story, although the film admittedly has some initial difficulty finding traction to tell it. Otherwise, though, “Still” offers an honest, insightful look into the life of a very public figure who has been fighting a very private battle and the effects that effort has had on shaping and evolving his professional, personal and philanthropic pursuits. Most of all, however, it shows us how we can identify what’s been missing from our lives and take steps to implement it, no matter how unusual the means may be for showing us the way.
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Excellent doc and bio. I like it for the emotions and the history. The man is a fighter with it's limit. This is a nice view of his career and his family, the support he had for his sickness. How it progress into his work too. Informative and true. I give 80%. For the honesty of it, it's worth watching.
Report
Clever documentary in which Michael J. Fox tells his life story. It stands out for its non-melodramatic recreations and extensive research work to integrate clips from movies and Fox series into the narrative. Although it ends abruptly, exploring very little of his activist days, 'Still' gives us a look at the daily life of a Parkinson's patient and the most vulnerable side of a human being.
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excellent
[ ek-suh-luhnt ]
adjective
possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good.
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Production Company
Concordia Studio
Release Date May 12, 2023
Duration 1 h 35 m
Rating R
Genres
Awards
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 4 Wins & 7 Nominations
Online Film & Television Association
• 4 Wins & 7 Nominations
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 5 Wins & 5 Nominations
