Irreplaceable You

Irreplaceable You is a likeable film with talented actors. It's too bad that they did not develop it into more. All in all it boils down to one sentence. "Don't die before you're dead but live until you die". It could have been so much more!

I'm not sure I could have fully appreciated the nuances and impact that the story conveyed without having personal experience of family members, and close friends suffering cancer.

Once again Gugu Mbatha-Raw gives us a barnstorming performance, showing a full range of emotions and character flaws. The stages of grief, from bargaining, anger, disbelief, through to expectance beautifully displayed. The whole story arc of trying to control the future for others rang true with my own experiences.

The supporting cast were all on form, especially Christopher Walken & Jacki Weaver, stealing most scenes that they were in with bittersweet irony, and tender emotions.

Ultimately some aspects around the story of the perfect couple together from the age of 8, annoyed me a bit, they just didn't quite seem plausible, but by the end of the film, if you're not bawling your eyes out, you have the emotional range of a teaspoon!

3/22/18. While the acting was really good (though overdramatic at times), it was really, really depressing. Not sure if this is even a therapeutic movie to watch for those in Mbatha-Raw's circumstances. I get it that she was trying her best to gain some control over a situation in which she has very little control over, it was really depressing nevertheless.

Irreplaceable You is the story of a couple who had been in love since childhood, but their worlds came crashing down when Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is diagnosed with terminal cancer. One of the biggest issues with this film was such a contrast in the tone, because a story about a couple torn apart by cancer seems sad, but the first hour is really upbeat and feels like a romantic comedy, glazing over the impending death like a formality. The tone eventually shifts to a more somber setting, but this contrast was really off-putting and distracted from the movie. That being said, the rest of the film was pretty good. Christopher Walken had a touching lovable character and the two main actors clearly had great on screen chemistry with each other. It was a touching film that really worked the emotions in the latter half, but the first half is so different it barely feels like the same movie. Alone, each half is really good, but together it can be conflicting. Overall a great netflix film for movie night with a significant other. Definitely worth the watch.

I dare say anyone who has reached middle age has several friends or acquaintances who have suffered and died from long term diseases, and I'm sure that no two peoples attitude to dying would be the same either. There lies the problem with this movie. I can't say I recognise any friends in the characters portrayed, but I'm sure others do. Complaining about a movie for not being real simply because it's not your reality doesn't make the writer or director wrong. The one similarity between all humans is our difference.