Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – A Heartbreaking Doc (Early Review)

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a documentary that centers around famed Canadian actor Michael J. Fox and the many struggles he faced over the course of his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The film invites audiences into his life, giving them a window into his world as the degenerative condition slowly steals his ability to walk. But just like Fox, the film try to put a more positive spin on it and features plenty of behind the scenes moments from some of his most well-known projects across film and TV including Spin City, Family Ties and of course Back to the Future.

As Fox recounts his story, it started when he was discovered at a young age before moving to Hollywood. As a teenager, times were rough but things seemed to change following a great audition that got him a role on Family Ties and from there, the rest was history. Meanwhile, the film features some effective editing where Fox’s story as he told it, through archival clips of his many performances across in film and TV, were set against intimate footage of daily struggles with his condition. As the film moved on from his Emmy-winning TV work and the star-making role in Back To The Future, its focus shifts to Fox’s original Parkinson’s diagnosis back when he was only 29 years old. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie dives deep into what it is like to live day to day with Parkinson’s Disease from the perspective of Fox, eventually honing in on what the disease may very well do to him somewhere down the road. As he suffered from the disease, he became and continues to be a strong advocate despite his own struggles, fighting for ongoing research and better funding for therapies and more effective treatments in order to help others who may be suffering. In the midst of his new life as an advocate, the film also shows Fox as a family man, spending time with his beloved wife and grown children, highlighting how they are coping with the effects of his illness now that he’s in his sixties.

While a story about a prototypical little guy overcoming some sort of adversity isn’t necessarily a new concept, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a well-directed feature that constructs a compelling narrative through the use of clips of his film and TV work along with intimate footage of his everyday life sprinkled in along the way. That being said, the nostalgia factor shoots off the charts at times as it saw Fox working on the set of Back To The Future. Donning the Jean jacket and orange vest and once the theme music kicks in, audiences will find themselves wanting to climb in the DeLorean beside him. Running at a brisk 95 minutes, the film never feels overstuffed either. Despite the heavy subject matter, the film uses a predominantly classic 1980’s soundtrack to keep the tone upbeat. While documentaries may not necessarily be for everyone, any audiences with an affinity for or those who have experienced the 1980’s will likely have more of a connection with what was essentially an effective time capsule on top of an already engaging story about the life of the endearing Michael J. Fox.

At the end of the day, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie offers a heartbreaking glimpse into the life of one of the biggest stars of the 1980’s and 1990’s and his tragic fall from grace. Despite the position he now finds himself in, Fox’s eternal optimism as he stares down his life’s misfortunes was arguably as inspiring and entertaining to watch as anything in any film this year so far.

(original review)

still courtesy of Apple

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Russell Miller

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