The Secret Power of Stillness in Your Documentary Narrative

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie poster

Maybe this isn't the best thing to confess, but I have never seen Back to the Future from start to finish. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie places that film in time and expands to show how Fox's filmography intersected with his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease at a young age.

Right from the first frame, you know you're in for a unique experience. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, Academy-award winning director of An Inconvenient Truth, Still starts... well... still.

Silence plays a big part in the film. Still moments of locations. Still moments of Fox thinking in interviews. Guggenheim's patience creates a space to feel, and in doing so emphasizes the energy Fox brought to the screen, as well as his Parkinson's.

That energy is shown by intercutting clips from Fox's films. And we're not talking just to show his work. Guggenheim manages to find reaction shots, even specific lines that respond to specific events as Fox narrates his life. The effect is incredibly personal and feels like you're seeing FOx's reaction to his life in real time.

The combination of these clips with reenactment footage, Fox's voiceover for not just himself but every character, and current day interview and verité footage with Fox and his family, creates an experience that is wholly Fox.

It shouldn't be a surprise to then to find out that Fox wrote the film himself.

Tips for your films

Watching Still, two things stood out that we can try in our own films:

1. Don't be afraid of silence.

Letting interview moments rest, or holding a shot and not adding music, can add as much to your film's story as narration.

2. Look for anything in the characters' life that can illustrate the story.

Your characters may not have a lifetime of cinema and news clips to pull from like Fox, but they likely have something you can use in creative ways. Family photos, social media posts, artwork, handwritten notes—keep digging and get creative until you find a way to visualize their emotional journey.