Oscar season tends to be so dominated by male faces and voices that it’s refreshing to see a film about female-friendship in the mix.
In the ALS drama You’re Not You, Hilary Swank and Emmy Rossum star as a classical pianist suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease and her college-student caretaker, respectively. Swank’s terminally ill character finds a respite from pity through Rossum’s blunt, carefree character, and the two women grow close as the patient’s health continues to decline.
Swank will undoubtedly impress as a woman who can neither walk nor speak without special equipment. A few years ago, when she was playing the part of the delicate ingenue for The Phantom of the Opera, Rossum might have seemed unconvincing as an irresponsible party girl, but she’s since proven her range in Showtime’s Shameless.
The script is co-written by Country Strong director Shana Feste, who adapted it from Michelle Widgman’s novel.
You’re Not You opens limited October 10. Swank will also seen this fall in the feminist Western The Homesman.
And here are Rossum and Swank’s ice-bucket challenges just for fun:
