Hilary Swank will suffer (onscreen).
I’ve sometimes commented that Hilary Swank seems to choose all her roles based on the Oscar value. I mean, yes, of course, all actors probably have read a script at some point and though, “This looks interesting. I wonder if this is even Oscar material.” But Swank seems to work with a checklist of what gets awards attention–based on a true story, overcoming odds, biography, disabled person. She hasn’t done anyone suffering from mental illness, but I’m sure that’s coming down the line.
(By the way, I have nothing against Swank, but it is just kind of funny when you look at her filmography.)
Anyway, I mention this because Variety reports that Swank will star in “You’re Not You,” an adaptation of a novel by Michelle Wildgen. George C. Wolfe will direct. He’s best known for working in theater; his only feature film credit is “Nights in Rodanthe.”
Here’s how it’s described on Amazon:
Bec is adrift. It’s the summer before her junior year in college. She’s sleeping with a married professor, losing interest in her classes, and equivocating about her career. She takes a job caring for Kate, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has been immobilized by ALS.
As it turns out, before the disease Kate was a stylish and commanding woman, an advertising executive and an accomplished chef. Now, as she and Bec spend long days together, Bec begins to absorb Kate’s sophistication and her sensuality, cooking for her, sharing her secrets, and gradually beginning to live her own life with a boldness informed by Kate’s influence. The more intense her commitment to Kate, the further Bec strays from the complacency of her college life. And when Kate’s marriage veers into dangerous territory, Bec will have to choose between the values of her old life and the allure of an entirely new one.
Okay, so there’s a part in there for some young actress to play the shiftless Bec. Can’t wait to see who gets that one.
Swank would probably not like us to remember that she was in last year’s “New Year’s Eve.” She’s also set to appear in “The Dallas Buyer’s Club” with Matthew McConaughey.
