You're Not You

A strong performance from Hilary Swank anchors You’re Not You, the often moving, sometimes funny, occasionally predictable story of a Lou Gehrig’s Disease sufferer and her feisty companion. Though probably not distinct enough to rate awards attention itself, this classy independent drama, directed by Broadway stalwart George C Wolfe, could still find a niche during awards season.

A few of the story’s turns feel familiar but the overall dramatic arc is convincing and Rossum’s performance nicely balances Swank’s.

Being overshadowed by early awards contenders (including Swank’s The Homesman) will be a danger when the film gets a simultaneous limited theatrical and VOD release in the US on October 10. But with the right marketing, domestic distributor eOne might attract a modest, mostly female audience. Independents that have acquired rights for international markets may do best going straight to home entertainment platforms.

The measured script by Shana Feste (Country Strong) and Jordan Roberts (March of the Penguins) is based on a critically praised 2006 novel by Michelle Wildgen (though the story inevitably brings 2011 French hit Intouchables to mind as well).

In her first big screen release since 2011’s New Year’s Eve, Swank plays Kate, a wealthy classical pianist whose life is derailed by the onset of ALS, the invariably fatal motor neuron disease nicknamed after its most famous sufferer, baseball great Lou Gehrig.

Against the advice of her caring but busy husband Evan (Safe Haven’s Josh Duhamel), Kate hires wild child student and aspiring rock singer Bec (Emmy Rossum, from Beautiful Creatures and the US version of Shameless) as her caregiver.

Stage director and writer Wolfe, making his first feature since 2008’s Nights In Rodanthe, finds just the right pace and tone for the development of Kate and Bec’s relationship, as each woman’s personality begins to rub off on the other and they form a bond that proves stronger than their respective romantic ties.

A few of the story’s turns feel familiar – Kate begins to loosen up under Bec’s influence and Bec starts to discover a long sought-after sense of commitment – but the overall dramatic arc is convincing and Rossum’s performance nicely balances Swank’s.

Though Kate’s decline is sometimes hard to watch – she gradually loses the power not just to move but to speak and breathe as well – the film mostly avoids disease-of-the-week movie sentimentality, even in its powerfully sad ending.