You're Not You (2014)

A drama centered on a classical pianist who has been diagnosed with ALS and the brash college student who becomes her caregiver.

Director:

George C. Wolfe

Writers:

Shana Feste (screenplay by), Jordan Roberts (screenplay by)

Stars:

Hilary Swank, Emmy Rossum, Josh Duhamel

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hilary Swank	...	Kate
Emmy Rossum	...	Bec
Josh Duhamel	...	Evan
Stephanie Beatriz	...	Jill
Jason Ritter	...	Wil (as Jason Morgan Ritter)
Julian McMahon	...	Liam
Ali Larter	...	Keely
Andrea Savage	...	Alyssa
Gerald Downey	...	Bill
Mike Doyle	...	Tom
Loretta Devine	...	Marilyn
Ernie Hudson	...	John
Erin Chenoweth	...	Cynthia
Gareth Williams	...	Bruce
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Elizabeth

Storyline

Kate is a classical pianist just diagnosed with ALS. Bec is a brash college student and would-be rock singer who can barely keep her wildly chaotic affairs, romantic and otherwise, together. Yet, when Bec takes a job assisting Kate, just as Kate's marriage to Evan hits the skids, both women come to rely on what becomes an unconventional, sometimes confrontational and fiercely honest bond. As meticulous, willful Kate begins to rub off on whirlwind, spontaneous Bec - and vice versa - both women find themselves facing down regrets, exploring new territory and expanding their ideas of who they want to be.

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Plot Keywords:

adultery | two in a shower | sex in shower | marital infidelity | marital separation | 

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Taglines:

Life is measured in moments that leave you breathless.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content, language and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

26 November 2014 (Philippines)

Also Known As:

Das Glück an meiner Seite

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daryl Prince Productions, 2S Films, DiNovi Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second film that stars Emmy Rossum and Frances Fisher. They both previously worked together in "The Audrey Hepburn Story" (2000), where they both played mother and daughter. In this film, Fisher and Hilary Swank also play mother and daughter.

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Goofs

When they are in the pool, Marilyn asks Kate if she has a spinal cord injury. ALS is a disease of motor neurons, not due to a spinal cord injury. People with ALS (PALS) continue to feel all sensation, unlike someone with a spinal cord injury.

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Quotes

Bec: [not realizing they are on the baby monitor] I'm doing something positive. Something good. I'm helping another human being.
Elizabeth: No, Rebekah my darling, you're not. What you *are* doing is exactly what you've done your entire life. You're focusing all of your energy, all of your time, on something that is doomed to fail. That poor, poor woman out there is going to die. And when she is gone, where does that leave you? With no future, no degree, and no means of supporting yourself. Nothing.
Bec: Merry ...

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Soundtracks

You Know (Instrumental)
Performed by Surviving Mondays
Written by Bryant Leong, Hazim Kadir, Abdul Hakeem Husny
Copyright 2014 ©

User Reviews

Likely to melt all but the iciest of hearts

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.