Le Second souffle

The movie opens with Kate (Hillary Swank), a classically trained pianist. One night while she's playing Chopin's Polonaise, she finds it hard to keep her fingers moving correctly. When she tune is over, she sees her pinky and thumb slightly twitching. 18 months later, it turns out that Kate has ALS. Bec's (Emmy Rossum) life is a bit of a mess. She's a struggling singer/songwriter, hooks up with random guys for sex, oversleeps, and is not the most reliable of people. She auditions to be Kate's caregiver. Against Kate's husband's - Evan - (Josh Duhamel) objections, Bec is given the job, which proves to be...interesting at first. The two women begin to bond into a real friendship, especially after Kate's marriage falls apart.

The movie was very well done. The acting was superb, especially Swank, who performed a variety of symptoms associated with ALS, from the twitching of the fingers, to the dragging of the legs, to the slurred, incoherent speech, and the coughing attacks. Rossum plays a character very similar to her Fiona character from Shameless - a stranger to wealth, class and refinement. All the same, she has a heart of gold.

I gave this an 8-star rating because I like both Swank and Rossum, and they did a spectacular job in their roles. The supporting cast was good, even though the movie was basically about the journey the two lead actresses go through together. The script was good, as was the directing. My one nitpick about the movie is Bec never would've been given the job of Kate's caregiver to begin with. However, it's not a true story, and aside from that, it was a very good tear jerker of a movie.

Classical pianist Kate (Hilary Swank) finds herself in a life-changing situation when she is diagnosed with ALS. 18 months after the diagnosis, Kate and her husband Evan (Josh Duhamel) interview college student Bec (Emily Rossum) in the hope of employing her as Kate's carer. Bec's lack of experience and poor timekeeping are of concern to Evan, but Kate sees something in her and decides to offer her the job. What follows is an employer/employee relationship that is often rocky, but one that proves unforgettable for both women.

The set-up at the start is kind of a 'fish out of water' scenario; Bec is unable to perform any basic duties such as cooking and assisting Kate with her 'lavatorial duties'. This begs the question of why Kate would employ Bec, but this is a minor gripe which I'm prepared to overlook. The other segment in the early stages sets the pair up as a bit of odd couple - 2 people who are completely different spending large amounts of time in each other's company. This set up provides some amusing moments and despite Bec's incompetence and indifference at the start I still actually quite liked her character. The writers did a good job in painting Bec as a young woman lacking in direction rather than someone who was out and out bad (at least that's how I saw her). In this respect Bec's character is a little clichéd, but thankfully her character is fairly well-written and explored - the only thing that I felt could have been expanded more was her notion of becoming a singer/songwriter (this is addressed at the end, but isn't explored well during the film).

Kate's character is more straight-laced; she doesn't like swearing and seems to have morals and principles. The fact that they are so different is what brings about the 'culture-clash', but this in essence is what actually helps to bring about the best in both women. Bec's strong character rubs off on Kate and makes Kate toughen up whereas Kate's strong moral stance clearly rubs off on Bec making her question some of her own life choices.

Although the film is well-written and the characters were well developed these things would be nothing without the wonderful performances from Swank and Rossum. Inevitably, Swank will be the one that gets the most recognition as she had a much tougher task, but Rossum shouldn't be overlooked - she plays her role with a brash edge but there's always an underlying sensitivity with her character. I thought that Rossum's character would annoy me when I saw her in the early stages, but I ended up quite liking her!!!. The chemistry between the two women was excellent and I could see that a warm and deep bond existed between them. Although they were boss and employee at the start you got the impression that they were best friends by the end.

Films of this nature can sometimes end up being a bit sappy and manipulative but I never got that feeling when watching this film. For me, it had a balanced even-handed storytelling approach that painted everyone as human beings and helped to highlight the difficulties that not only an individual suffering with ALS has to endure, but also how this affects everyone around the individual. If you have a heart or any kind of empathy in your body then this is not to be missed.

Hilary Swank outperforms with an amazing supporting performance by Emmy Rossum. Followed by a great male lead performance for Josh Duhamel. It is a moving and insightful look into the world of an ALS patient. The evolution of their relationship throughout the main character's condition was incredible. This movie delivers an amazing and emotional message that was clearly received. From someone who suffered the loss of a family member to this disease my opinion may be a little biased but this movie gave me a peek into a world unknown to myself. This is truly a staple in the drama genre. I have not seem a home run of a movie like this in many years.

This film tells the story of a woman in her time of her life, whose life is turned upside down when she notices tenors of her hand. The next thing she knows, she is battling the steadily progressive and irreversible disease of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

While the ice bucket challenge raises superficial awareness towards ALS, "You're Not You" really tells people what it is like to have a motor neurone disease. Hilary Swank acts with terrific realism in this film, even down to the changing quality of her voice. The plot is super moving, I lost count the number of times my eyes tear up. To me it's a bit of mystery why she gives Bec a chance to nurse her, but it's very refreshing to see that they strike up an unlikely but deep and lasting friendship that us based on mutual respect and trust. I really enjoyed watching this film.

You're Not You (2014)

This is a straight forward drama, and an intense one. There are two main characters who are meant to be opposites in most ways. Kate (Hilary Swank) is wealthy, a successful classical musician, well mannered, and surrounded by friends. Bec (Emily Rossum) is struggling in every way: her half-finished folk-rock songs, her iffy friends, her bills, and her who-cares attitude. It's given from the get-go they will meet, and with the doubts of Kate's kindly handsome husband, Bec begins homecare for Kate, who is diagnosed early in the movie with ALS.

So this is really a story of a privileged woman learning about true friendship and caring, shorn of niceties. And of a troubled woman learning she has real worth and can actually contribute in a way that makes her grow. The two are never quite friends—there are things they just don't know about each other, and communication becomes harder through time— but they are absolutely devoted and bound to each other. This is beautiful and truly moving by the end. Tearjerker alert.

This is also a story about ALS, and how to cope, and how maybe to understand what people might need who are dying slowly of this disease—or any other progressively degrading illness. This too is difficult to watch.

Swank is terrific, and scary in her ability to be that victim just when life is all roses. Rossum comes off at first as not believable. Her antics and extreme disregard for things (the blender scene, for those who have seen it) are planted in the movie to make a point, and it almost made me move on. But hang in there! After half an hour the real movie begins, if you will, and the acting and writing all rise a level up.

It must be said that the husband plays an ongoing role here, and also a believable one. He is truly caring and tender, but also flawed. And so you see everyone has flaws, including Kate, who recognizes them in herself as much as others. Which gives it all the nuancing this movie needed to work.

It works. It isn't a surprising, twisting, drama by any stretch. Rather, it settles into telling us about a part of our real world with sensitive, beautiful detail.