Almost every story you hear about breast cancer research is a frustrating one; a cure still sits out of reach for the disease that affects 1 in 8 women. So it’s not entirely surprising that the story of Canadian Annie Parker, a three-time survivor, proves just as elusive in the hands of first-time feature director Steven Bernstein.
Fortunately, he’s got heavy-hitting talent Samantha Morton in the lead role; her complex facial expressions alone show more range than a lot of entire actors I can think of.
Her Annie is having “a bit of bad luck,” as one oncologist callously puts it. First her father dies, then her mother, of breast cancer; later, it’s her sister. Soon, Annie is undergoing chemo and promising her young son (Benjamin Stockham) that she won’t die. I liked that Bernstein doesn’t beautify her suffering; upon learning her diagnosis, Annie simply breaks down, sobbing — as any normal person would — “I don’t want to suffer! I don’t want to die!”
Meanwhile, Helen Hunt’s on the other side of the picture, as geneticist Mary-Claire King, one of the first to propose a genetic link for breast cancer. But she and her team — including Maggie Grace and Ben McKenzie — can’t escape the fact that studying genetics charts does not make for compelling viewing.
I was also a bit misled by the Annie quote that precedes the film: “My life was a comedy. I just had to learn how to laugh.” As spirited as she is, it’s not really about this, though a parade of ’60s and ’70s wigs does serve as unintentional comic relief — particularly the ones on Aaron Paul as Annie’s pool-man/rocker husband. He’s a welcome presence, though, as a devoted partner who’s set adrift when his relationship is a heavier lift than he can manage. (In one amusing scene, Annie stops mid-sex act to inform him that “there’s a simple test you can do for testicular cancer!”)
Other familiar faces turn up throughout: Rashida Jones plays a doctor’s receptionist who turns into a research ally and friend; Alice Eve is a family pal of Annie’s; Bradley Whitford portrays a later-in-life love interest. All acquit themselves respectably in this well-intentioned, if ultimately underwhelming, ode to the ongoing fight for a cure.