Hilary Swank plays a great role in this movie, she truly shows the pain and suffering that someone with ALS faces. Although it is just acting, Swank moves you as she shows a struggling pianist that not only has to face a horrible disease, but faces emotional distress emotionally. As Swank's character becomes more sick, Swank must act more and more sickly, moving slower and speaking slower also. This movie pulls on the heartstrings as the fight between Swank's character and the fight with ALS becomes increasingly difficult. The fact that Swank can accurately represent the disease in the movie allows those that do not understand the disease to see the struggles and issues that those that suffer face every day. I enjoyed this movie because it is a serious drama and it made me feel happy, sad, joyous, and thoughtful all at the same time. It was joyous because Kate is enabled to live her life to the fullest and her caretaker, Bec, gets a new look at life. I would recommend this movie because of the great portrayal of Swank. The only thing that was weird was the character of Evan, portrayed by Josh Duhamel, although his character played an important role... he was only visible for the first 20mins of the movie, then his appearances were weird and misplaced. OVERALL: This movie is great for the portrayal of ALS, and Swank played a great role.

It was quite some time I have not seen any Hilary Swank's movie. In this her role was very good one. Beside her's, another equally extended character played by Emma Rossum. As these two play the roles that defines the movie, which is more like the American and women's version of the French movie 'Intouchable'. I never heard of this film before, but got interested once I learnt about the storyline and of course the cast.I usually become a prey for tearjerker movies, but not for the intense emotional drama like this one and so it is won't expect you fall for it either. Based on the book of the same name which was probably a fictional work inspired by the real disease. It talks about a 36 year old ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) patient, Kate and her caregiver, Bec, especially their unlikely relationship and activities together in the final days. They two are exactly opposite, it's not the fate, but day by day growing their deep bond bring them very close when they share everything in life.A very good concept, but nothing new in the movie. Everything is already exhibited in other films. The only advantage is if you have not seen those in a large number. In my case, I like this kind of theme, so seen numerous in different languages. You are going to witness here a parallel storytelling in a different context with a fresh cast. But still the movie is captivating, because of excellent execution from both the cast and crew."Why is it that we want the ones that don't see us. Instead of the ones that do."The let down was the rest of the characters. I don't know where they were, but totally discarded. It is understood that the husband and wife relationship was shattered because of the sacrifice. Friends and Parents, they have got ditched from the screenplay that won't happen in reality. The writers should have used them to create more sensational moments, but they had a different idea in mind to narrate the story. In a couple of places I felt Rossum had over-performed. In other hand, Swank was kind of attractive. I consider it a plus point to fix our face towards the screen, unfortunately she played a tragic role.Despite all the good and bad, it was one step ahead for both the lead women to get back to their positions as an actress, compared to their recent years form in the industry. It is not a popular movie, but it should have been. A movie about how to build a friendship and to fight a disease. A friendship that blossomed at the final juncture, nevertheless it fought hard till the last minute. That is the major difference in this film to others. Like I complained earlier, there's no parents or husband, all about told from the perspective of a friendship. If you want to try this, don't anticipate to a greater height and clear your mind before entering. Expectations are the major cause for all the disappointments.7/10

In all fairness having watched Intouchables (2011) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/ watching this movie felt more like a female version of the same storyline. Hilary Swank has done a powerful portrayal of person suffering from ALS and you are almost shocked to see her degenerative condition take shape in her speech and movement, the rest of the cast is also quite good and has done a fair job but besides this the movie it self was more like a documentary with a very shallow story line and not much to offer then provoking a few sentimental thoughts for the characters through the movie. With a very predictable plot and nothing left to imagination I would rate this as a rather mediocre movie and am rather amazed by the high rating it has been getting, the only explanation I have is that it plays well on peoples sentiments and carries popular cast.

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.