Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie Review – As Heartwarming As It Is Heartbreaking

Michael J. Fox is an actor that I grew up with for years. And not just me, but America was in love with the boy who went back in time, among other things. Fox’s meteoric rise was followed by tragic heartbreak. Revealing a years-long diagnosis of Parkinson’s, Fox stepped away from the limelight, occasionally returning to his fans’ delight. But this Still movie review is all about an almost autobiographical documentary movie from Michael J. Fox about his life, with and without the Parkinson’s diagnosis.

Still Movie Review Will Be Totally Spoiler-Free

Now I’ll be totally transparent, documentaries are not the kind of movies I usually enjoy. However, the subject matter of Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is something that is difficult to resist. Fox’s diagnosis, when revealed was very surprising. It came as a shock to many audiences and fans of the actor. So, as I’ll discuss in this Still movie review, it was very cathartic to see how the actor is doing decades after his diagnosis. And the documentary itself is very well done in a unique and exceptional way. And given that Michael J. Fox narrated the movie, it felt immersive and almost autobiographical.

The Michael J. Fox Story We Never Knew We Needed

The story of Still: A Michael J. Fox movie is from the many of the books Fox himself has written about his life, before and after his Parkinson’s diagnosis. As mentioned earlier in this Still movie review, Fox narrates the film himself, so it’s completely from his perspective. On top of that, the other framing device is that director Davis Guggenheim interviews Fox on camera, to fill in the mixing gaps, directly from his perspective.

Telling his story in this manner feels so intensely personal. For audiences, it’s almost like Fox breaking his silence and telling each member of the audience about his life, like it’s a one on one conversation. But the documentary works even if you know nothing about Fox, the actor or the person. And they do this by recapping Fox’s earlier life, his interest in acting, his rise to fame and his eventual diagnosis that led to his career slowing down. So even for audiences not familiar with Fox, it’s still a documentary that can watch and engage with.

Some Issues In This Still Movie Review

I wholeheartedly enjoyed Still: A Michael J. Fox story, and appreciate its viewpoint being entirely from Fox’s perspective. However, I would have been interested in hearing more about Fox from those closest to him, and in his life. While we see his family and witness their lives through interactions they have with one another, there are no interviews with the director, like Fox himself has.

But I also do understand the choice of not going that route. The documentary feels very personal and from the first-person perspective. Having others speak about Fox might have diluted that experience, and made it more like someone telling his story. The moments that punctuate this, even more, are when we see Fox doing therapy with his physical therapist, discussing the physical challenges he has every day. It’s very powerful imagery because we see Fox in his element, how his life is now. Others speaking about him might have taken away from that.

Why Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie Works So Well

Ultimately, Still is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a long time. Its unique storytelling method combines Fox’s narration, with scenes from his varied career connecting the voice-over into a visual representation of a young Fox acting out his own narration. With dramatic reenactment filling in the gaps between them. It’s genius because it almost feels like we’re living Fox’s life, through his narration and the images on screen.

It’s an immersive documentary if there ever was one. And therefore, so much more powerful and heartwarming. But the biggest takeaway is how normal the story of his life is, post the diagnosis. Usually, a story about a celebrity figure in the prime of his career, diagnosed with a degenerative and debilitating disease would be pity-fodder. Or better yet, an inspirational story about overcoming adversity and challenges. But Fox’s story isn’t that.

Actually, he vehemently doesn’t want it to be that. He wants neither pity nor to be inspiring. He just wants to be Michael J. Fox. And the documentary definitely makes that very clear. The movie isn’t to inspire, or showcase a tragedy, but to reveal just how normal his life is, and how he is still moving and still the person that America fell in love with years ago, and still loves today. And it works. And it’s great because of that perspective.

He is Michael J. Fox. Still.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is currently streaming on Apple TV+