STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie

At twenty-nine Michael J. Fox notices a twitch in the little finger of his left hand. The diagnosis is Parkinson's. He is one of the best-known young actors in the world at the time and hides it for seven years: arranging his roles so the hand stays out of shot, timing his medication before scenes, telling nobody. The form of the documentary is unusual: the scenes Fox describes are assembled from footage of his own films and television. His pre-illness self is used as the reenactment of the story he is telling today. Newly shot material in which no actor's face is visible is cut in as well, and the three layers run into each other. Nothing is hidden in the present-day filming: falls, broken bones, difficulty speaking and physiotherapy all go on the record. Fox never drops the irony as narrator, and the film does not ask for pity on his behalf. Davis Guggenheim directed for Apple TV+. It took seven Emmy nominations in 2023 and won four: documentary, directing, editing and music. Who it is for: anyone who likes documentaries that play with form and anyone who knows the cinema of the eighties. Who it is not for: anyone who finds the progress of illness hard to watch. The film does not cut away from the falls, the use of archive will read as a trick to some viewers, and his family gets little room in the telling.