The Disability in Film Blogathon – You’re Not You (2014)

This is the final of three posts dedicated to The Disability in Film Blogathon being held over at In The Good Old Days of Hollywood and Popculture Reverie

Tnx Crystal and Robin for letting me take part!

“Marilyn called herself the black Lou Gehrig. Most of you know what that means. But some of Marilyn’s younger friends might appreciate knowing that LOu Gehrig was a baseball player for the New York Yankees. He played in a record 2,130 straight games over 17 seasons until ALS forced him to reture. He bud farewell to his fans and teammates by saying, “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” What he meant was that although adversity had weakened his body, it had strengthened his connection to those around him. ” – John

Number of Times Seen – 1 (23 Oct 2018)

Brief Synopsis – A woman suffering from ALS must try and find a balance in her life as the disease slowly gets stronger and stronger.

My Take on it – For my third film of this blogathon, I decided to seek out a film that got good reviews yet one that I had never even heard of.

When I came across this one, I knew it was the perfect choice to use for this blogathon.

The premise itself is great and I loved the way that they try as hard as possible to show the reality of things without the need to sugarcoat or downplay things.

The story is accentuated by the amazing performance of Hilary Swank in the lead role who is wonderful here.

This film give the unique perspective of how a disease like ALS can affect the way of life of a normal woman living a normal life with a normal family.

The supporting cast is superb with Emmy Rossum, Josh Duhamel and Ernie Hudson all giving great performances ere but Loretta Devine steals every scene she is in as a friend of Swank’s character who also has ALS.

This film isn’t told as a fairy tale and it doesn’t shy away from trying to show many of the realities of this debilitating disease but at the same time it has a great message about hope and optimism that is needed in order to make the best of what you are given in life.

Bottom Line – Very interesting film that doesn’t try and sugarcoat things and is accentuated by the performance of Swank.  We get to see a unique perspective of how a debilitating disease like ALS can affect the way of life of a normal woman in a normal family.  The supporting cast is great with Rossum, Duhamel and Hudson all giving great performances but Devine steals every scene that she appears in and was perfectly cast in that role.  This isn’t a fairy tale story but it does manage to show the viewer that hope and optimism can work to make the best of what you are given. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – To show awareness for this disease many people did the ALS ice bucket challenge, Hilary Swank included. Then her character portrayed the devastating effects of this disease. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)

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