You're Not You (2014)

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.

i didn't have a lot of expectations for this movie, i went in like "OK, i'm gonna watch this" and i thought that after it's gonna be done, i would be like...meh, it was OK.But damn, this movie made me cry (the ending...when she jumps off the bed and goes to her, i started crying like a baby, i didn't cry in 2-3 years lol and this movie made me cry). It was a beautiful and sad movie, the actors played VERY WELL! this is my first review on the site and i'm here since 3-4 years ago, but only this movie made me write one.Watch it alone so you can cry, because YOU WILL CRY. I don't give 10 to movies, almost never, but this one deserves a 10 for sure.

I didn't know anything going in about this movie. I had watched a scary movie that wasn't very good, and chose this to see something different.I was really taken aback at how incredible this movie was. Hillary as a very ill woman was amazing. The gradual decline in her character's health was subtle and SO believable. Heart breaking. Emmy had a wonderful chemistry with Hillary in their roles and it pulled you in. Josh Duhamel was believable in the role of Hillary's husband and him having a difficult time being there throughout the illness was understandable, but written/played without the audience being set up to hate him. Yes, it is a tear jerker, and yes it has women leads, but this made it even more wonderful, to the haters out there. Please take the time to watch this wonderful film.

The main page for this movie shows "release dates" but no business and box office numbers, so I don't know if it ever was in theaters. I found it on Netflix streaming movies. It features an all-star cast in a story about a difficult subject, a 30-something pianist in her prime being stricken with ALS. Hilary Swank is Kate, a pianist happily married and living in Houston. (Although set in Houston, filmed elsewhere.) She and her husband have a very upscale home and entertain regularly. Her symptoms start very gradually with the occasional unexplained dropping of things. Then later, as she is playing a classical piece she plays wrong notes as her fingers seem to be trembling a bit. She is diagnosed with onset of ALS for which there is no cure, no reversal, and eventually requires a care-giver to help her get around and do even the basics, like using the toilet or taking a shower and getting dressed afterwards.Emmy Rossum (who was so good 10 years earlier in 'Phantom') is Bec, pretty much the opposite type of person. She attends college, some times, seems very unfocused, and often enjoys nights out drinking and hooking up with a stranger. She is even having an affair with one of her married professors. She has no cooking or cleaning skills, and no experience as a care-giver, but against all probabilities Kate prefers her and asks her to take the job.So most of the story is Kate trying to deal with all this and a husband who seems more and more distant, while Bec tries to get a better grip on her own life, and actually make something of herself. Maybe even re-kindle that dormant song-writing passion she used to have.Josh Duhamel is good as the husband, Evan, and Jason Ritter is good as Wil, just a genuine nice guy who can't quite figure out why Bec won't give him a chance to care about her. Pretty Ali Larter also has a nice role as Keely, one of Kate's wealthy friends.Good movie, often hard to watch, but the performances are super.