Ninety minutes that can save you a lot of time - that's Still.
As humbling as it is inspiring, this documentary about Michael J Fox's life before and since his Parkinson's disease diagnosis is a circuit breaker. Like the best of its kind, the film reminds the rest of us that there's often a gulf between our perception of the challenges we face in this world and their actual size.
Brilliant storytelling sees director Davis Guggenheim weaving archive footage from Fox's screen career with recreations and present-day interviews. The conversations between the director and his subject are matter-of-fact and profound. Throughout, humour matches heart.
Living with an incurable illness in full public view, Fox refuses to dwell on either the pain he is in or the $2 billion he has raised to try to find a cure. Watching, you scramble for superlatives in your mind - and deem that they're insufficient.
Still needed more with Fox's family - one of the few present-day films where an extra half-hour was warranted - and the ending is somewhat slapdash, but they're the only faults to find.
Fox's often-quoted line is that Parkinson's is "the gift that keeps on taking". For viewers, the saying reverts to its traditional form here and is superseded by another gem of hard-lived wisdom from the man himself: "As long as you have a chip left and a chair to sit in, you're in the game."
Still: A Michael J Fox Movie is playing in Light House Dublin and Pálás Galway (exclusively) and streaming globally on Apple TV+.
