Michael J. Fox delivers a heart-warming take on his battle with Parkinson’s in Still

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Davis Guggenheim, Tracy Pollan, and family. 

Actor Michael J. Fox tells his own story, without glossing over the visual reality of Parkinson’s Disease. A popular star from the 80s and an American household name, Fox has been part of the growing-up memories of many for decades.

It came as a shock when the actor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease—an incurable brain disease that makes most muscles suffer involuntary tremors and others unresponsive.

At 29, Fox—a young father—was on the verge of burnout. His Parkinson's diagnosis brought on waves of denial, heavy usage of medication to hide his condition, a phase of alcoholism, and finally, involuntary collapse.

Yet, Apple TV+'s Still has created a heart-warming and upbeat story around Fox’s survival of Parkinson’s and the roller-coaster ride of life in Hollywood—without giving in to the heaviness of its core subject—a disease that knows no stardom or fame. 

Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim has artfully utilised archival footage of Fox’s most popular screen characters and moments from his much-loved shows and films to build the drama around his early life.

A Canadian kid, who looked a decade younger than he was, Fox became a child star and made a hard living out of acting till he got his big break in the TV show, Family Ties.

He worked on this super hit show and Steven Spielberg’s iconic movie, Back To The Future, together, often losing track of time or space. Once Back To The Future was released, there was no looking back for this in-demand young star.

He met his wife, Tracy Pollan, on the sets of Family Ties. She was the balance of sanity to his hectic acting life, where he had to become someone else convincingly to bring home the bacon; day after day, week after week.

In one such whirlwind phase, while his wife dealt with a young baby all by herself, Fox woke up to find his pinky finger trembling uncontrollably. Having had a night of drunken revelry with Woody Harrelson, he wondered if it was ‘auto-animating’. The diagnosis was clear; he had Parkinson’s Disease. 

Fox kept his disease a secret from everyone but his family for the longest time, while overworking himself on movie sets in distant places—dousing his nerves with pills and alcohol to keep delivering on the job.

Slowly the work turned mediocre, and criticism flowed in. Tracy began to find Fox’s denial of Parkinson’s and absentee fatherhood grating. Accepting that his battle with this disease had no way out, Fox took up the TV show Spin City, although his left hand was experiencing tremors. Working himself to the bone, finally the disease reached a point of no return. 

Still is rich and engrossing because of smart editing and switch over to classic cinematic moments and soundtracks, for example, Alan Silvestri’s rich background score for Back To The Future, from Fox’s early career. Keeping himself strictly in character, Fox elevates this documentary with his light-hearted touch.

Watch out for the moment when he falls while walking down the sidewalk, teasing a fan that she literally “knocked him off his feet.”

Instead of singing fake praises of himself, Fox describes his early career as driven by fear and insecurity—a home truth of stardom. Money, cars, and women came fast and easy. When he complimented a Canadian beer in an interview, a truckload appeared outside his home for free.

Guggenheim pulls off a series of revealing but lightly worded questions in his interview with Fox, while editor Michael Harte pulls off slick cuts. There’s a moment of fine editing, where a young Fox is staring at the cover of every US magazine on a magazine stand. Although each one has Fox on the cover, not one is close to capturing the real him. 

Fox contemplates, amidst intercuts of difficult physiotherapy, that, “You think it’s made out of brick and rock, but it’s not. It’s made out of paper and feathers. It’s an illusion.” He alludes to the delicate balance of stardom, family life, and success that he stuck on pills to hide his illness for a long time. 

As the narrative begins to wrap up, its poignant starting point echoes in the viewer’s mind—Michael J Fox, the cute, lovable comic superstar—has never sat still. Ever. Now, he has no choice but to do so.

His frenzied life, ironically, has finally settled down in peace and contentment with his family as his body deals with a degenerative disease. Success is passing; Parkinson’s is not. By bringing his story to the forefront with signature humour, Still brings a sensitive and poignant lived drama for everyone to watch and introspect over. 

Ratings: 4/5