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STILL is an interesting title for the documentary about this famous actor’s life and latter experiences of living with Parkinson’s Disease. The capitalisation of the word emphasises it’s importance and it’s meaning but it’s a meaning that I am sure different viewers will take their own interpretations from. On the surface it refers to calmness, serenity and dignity, which Fox displays throughout but it also describes the opposite of what he now is with the muscle palsy and tremors that are the symptoms of his condition. In this sense attaching this adjective to the man defies his illness and says that he is more than what it makes him, which again is a theme that again runs right through the film. What is made clear though is that this guy has never been still, he has always been moving and animated, excitable and energetic, even since early childhood. For me what that title means, especially when you take it in its entirety with the subtitle, is that he is ‘still’ Michael J. Fox. The movie sweetly sets out some differences between Mike Fox, his true self, and the movie star with the full name and that sham middle initial, and it is clear that not only does he remain the guy he has always been at heart but he is also the man he has always been on screen; the friendly everyman winning in extreme situations and providing a plucky example to others.

It is hard for Michael J. Fox’s disability not to dominate this film. Any talking head shots or clips of him with his family, of which there are many, show the nature of his current existence. The movie actually covers his whole life though, showing how he broke into Hollywood and suddenly became one of the biggest stars of the 80s. As a film fan I might be more inclined to favour these aspects but actually there are no different parts to the narrative presented here. Through great editing and tight storytelling there is no then and now, no before and after, instead it is just a complete picture of this one man. You certainly see the journey he has taken but crucially Fox is presented here as the product of all his experiences, good and less so. Events are relayed through an expert mix of re-enactment and from clips from his extensive screen catalogue, including a lot of lesser known early performances. This comes together to show that, while there is a skilled interviewer and director Davis Guggenheim (who also did An Inconvenient Truth and He Named Me Malala) steering it, it is Michael’s story. As well as getting a sense of Michael J. Fox the actor, you also meet him as a writer which is how his performance finds expression now. Fox has written four memoirs and his skill in telling tales on the page is evident in many of the voice overs.

There are insights here, both in relation to his general openness with those around him and the secret he kept for eight years, and in respect of the latter it is fascinating to see clips of him, mostly in the TV show Spin City, where it is clear now that he was hiding his tremors although undetectable at the time. It is similarly interesting to see how he has always owned the things that make him who he is as well; previously his diminutive height and now his Parkinson’s. His philanthropy and charity work is here too but these are given no more or less focus than everything else.

STILL is an ultimately uplifting and rewarding documentary about a positive and witty human being; a man who has had real highs and lows and hasn’t always been brought down by which of these you would think. Personally I might have wanted to hear more about his voice work on Stuart Little, or perhaps the films he did with Wayne Wang, Rob Reiner and Aaron Sorkin, but appropriately in the end this shows someone looking back to explain and contextualise his future. If you like Michael J. Fox you’ll like this film and watching it, it is kind of impossible not to.

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The Ripley Factor:

While it is clear that the young Michael Fox’s relationship with his mother was strong it appears to be his father who set him on the road he took. The presence of the women in his life is more apparently significant though when it comes to his daughters and especially his wife. Tracy Pollen, herself a successful actor, even outside the work she has done opposite her better known husband, is clearly an immeasurable influence and support on Fox and is easily as big a positive force on him as anything else. As such this is as much a love story as it is an unlikely success or a triumph over adversity one.