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The simplest things...Review created: 03/21/04
by: suepera -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
Great acting, directing & script.
Great acting, directing & script.
Cons:
Unhappy ending- but hey, it's a true story.
Unhappy ending- but hey, it's a true story.
This movie is based on a true story. Like most true stories, it doesn't have a happy ending.
The cast
Dr. Malcolm Sayer... Robin Williams
Leonard Lowe... Robert DeNiro
Elanor Costello... Julie Kavner
Dr. Kaufman... John Heard
Paula... Penelope Ann Miller
The Story...
In 1966 Dr. Sayer (Robin Williams) applies at a chronic care facility in the Bronx. At first it appears he may not get the job- having almost no experience with people- only research- he seems to be unqualified. Apparently desperate for doctors, they point out he had patients as an intern, right? This is kind-of an important point to the movie because this movie is all about people, how we connect as human beings.
Dr. Sayer finds many patients who appear to be catatonic. They are awake, yet completely stiff & unable to move or apparently, to react. Yet he notices that they do have the ability to feel. Using a Ouija board, with a patient Leonard Lowe (Robert DeNiro) he spells out Rilke's Panther. In a touching scene, he reads the poem that talks about being caged and even when something does get through to the heart- it then dies. This solidifies his belief that these people, though seemingly "dead" are actually aware of their surroundings.
Through a series of guesses & inferences, he comes to believe that perhaps these people have an extreme form of Parkinson's. (In actuality they are victims of a sleeping sickness epidemic that occurred from 1916-1927) That they have gone past the tremor to the point of complete rigidity. Using the then experimental drug, L-Dopa, he administers it to one patient- Leonard.
At first the drug seems to have no effect. Then one night, he "awakes." The difference is huge. The two of them connect and become friends. Dr. Sayer is himself, a shy & reserved person. Through their friendship, he has his own awakening.
After seeing the success of this one patient, they put the rest of the patients on it. Of course with funding from the hospital staff & the benefactors of the hospital.
The joy all these patients experience from the ability to do the simplest things... those things we ALL take for granted is the core of the movie. I won't tell how it ends- like I usually do.
My Take...
The most important thing is the same thing as the simplest thing. This movie so very well done. It doesn't have a Hollywood ending. But I don't think just because a movie elicits a response (like tears) means it should be labeled a "tearjerker" or "manipulative." This movie just tries to remind us- as these patients did with their doctors- that WE are the ones who need to be awakened. It is true.
There is a scene where Leonard tells Dr. Sayers that everything in the paper is BAD... all bad. He tells him that we have to remember the good. Not only remember, but to also DO something. Not to just sit around & sleep. I know it sounds trite & like a cliche, but it is the stuff that life is made of. There is another great scene where Leonard tells Dr. Sayer that it is he who is asleep. In the movie, Dr. Sayer is portrayed as a very introverted man who doesn't take many risks in life.
In Conclusion...
This is a very moving, touching story that is based on the true story written by Dr. Oliver Sacks in his book of the same title, Awakenings. I don't know how accurate this movie is- don't really care. It stands on its own merits. I am of course interested enough now to read the book. But the movie is so well done. Williams & DeNiro make a surprisingly good pair. And Williams does a great job in a role where he isn't funny. He does a perfect job of behaving like an introverted yet intuitive man. Despite his shyness, his heart is obviously in the right place. DeNiro does some of his best work ever as the patient who comes to life. It is a very hard role- he has to go from catatonic to full of life and back. But he has a dignity and a way of portraying Leonard that seems so genuine. I read that both Williams & DeNiro spent time with the real Dr. Sacks and also watched his documentary on these patients. It shows.
The music by Randy Newman is also outstanding. So poignantly sweet and moving. It adds just the right note- without being overpowering.
Basically, this movie is a bittersweet reminder of the brevity of life. That we aren't here forever. I think that people find that unsettling. And really that's what this movie is here to do-- unsettle us. To hopefully inspire us to live like there is no tomorrow.
The cast
Dr. Malcolm Sayer... Robin Williams
Leonard Lowe... Robert DeNiro
Elanor Costello... Julie Kavner
Dr. Kaufman... John Heard
Paula... Penelope Ann Miller
The Story...
In 1966 Dr. Sayer (Robin Williams) applies at a chronic care facility in the Bronx. At first it appears he may not get the job- having almost no experience with people- only research- he seems to be unqualified. Apparently desperate for doctors, they point out he had patients as an intern, right? This is kind-of an important point to the movie because this movie is all about people, how we connect as human beings.
Dr. Sayer finds many patients who appear to be catatonic. They are awake, yet completely stiff & unable to move or apparently, to react. Yet he notices that they do have the ability to feel. Using a Ouija board, with a patient Leonard Lowe (Robert DeNiro) he spells out Rilke's Panther. In a touching scene, he reads the poem that talks about being caged and even when something does get through to the heart- it then dies. This solidifies his belief that these people, though seemingly "dead" are actually aware of their surroundings.
Through a series of guesses & inferences, he comes to believe that perhaps these people have an extreme form of Parkinson's. (In actuality they are victims of a sleeping sickness epidemic that occurred from 1916-1927) That they have gone past the tremor to the point of complete rigidity. Using the then experimental drug, L-Dopa, he administers it to one patient- Leonard.
At first the drug seems to have no effect. Then one night, he "awakes." The difference is huge. The two of them connect and become friends. Dr. Sayer is himself, a shy & reserved person. Through their friendship, he has his own awakening.
After seeing the success of this one patient, they put the rest of the patients on it. Of course with funding from the hospital staff & the benefactors of the hospital.
The joy all these patients experience from the ability to do the simplest things... those things we ALL take for granted is the core of the movie. I won't tell how it ends- like I usually do.
My Take...
The most important thing is the same thing as the simplest thing. This movie so very well done. It doesn't have a Hollywood ending. But I don't think just because a movie elicits a response (like tears) means it should be labeled a "tearjerker" or "manipulative." This movie just tries to remind us- as these patients did with their doctors- that WE are the ones who need to be awakened. It is true.
There is a scene where Leonard tells Dr. Sayers that everything in the paper is BAD... all bad. He tells him that we have to remember the good. Not only remember, but to also DO something. Not to just sit around & sleep. I know it sounds trite & like a cliche, but it is the stuff that life is made of. There is another great scene where Leonard tells Dr. Sayer that it is he who is asleep. In the movie, Dr. Sayer is portrayed as a very introverted man who doesn't take many risks in life.
In Conclusion...
This is a very moving, touching story that is based on the true story written by Dr. Oliver Sacks in his book of the same title, Awakenings. I don't know how accurate this movie is- don't really care. It stands on its own merits. I am of course interested enough now to read the book. But the movie is so well done. Williams & DeNiro make a surprisingly good pair. And Williams does a great job in a role where he isn't funny. He does a perfect job of behaving like an introverted yet intuitive man. Despite his shyness, his heart is obviously in the right place. DeNiro does some of his best work ever as the patient who comes to life. It is a very hard role- he has to go from catatonic to full of life and back. But he has a dignity and a way of portraying Leonard that seems so genuine. I read that both Williams & DeNiro spent time with the real Dr. Sacks and also watched his documentary on these patients. It shows.
The music by Randy Newman is also outstanding. So poignantly sweet and moving. It adds just the right note- without being overpowering.
Basically, this movie is a bittersweet reminder of the brevity of life. That we aren't here forever. I think that people find that unsettling. And really that's what this movie is here to do-- unsettle us. To hopefully inspire us to live like there is no tomorrow.
Review ID: 10000000000350630
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