55 Steps

A film set in California and based on a real case. Eleanor is held in a psychiatric hospital. She is given medication and disputes the dose; the side effects are heavy and she has no say in her own treatment. She calls a law office and speaks to Colette. The first conversation is hard; Eleanor is angry, insistent and will not hang up. Colette takes the case. The claim looks simple: that patients be informed about the medication given to them and granted the right to refuse. The case runs for years. The hospital opposes it, the courts drag on and a new obstacle appears at every stage. At the same time a relationship forms between the two women. Eleanor has nobody else; Colette has put her work at the centre of her life and has no life of her own. The title comes from the hospital steps; because of her health Eleanor struggles to climb them and counts them every time. What the narrative is interested in is not winning but the question of a person having a say over her own body. Helena Bonham Carter plays Eleanor and Hilary Swank plays Colette. Jeffrey Tambor is in the cast. Bille August directed. A suitable choice for anyone who likes courtroom drama and films based on real events. For a viewer expecting pace, the film follows the legal process step by step.