AWAKENINGS
A film review by Jim Pellmann
Copyright 1991 Jim Pellmann
Set in 1969, this is the story of a neurologist (Robin Williams) who attempts to "awaken" a group of patients in a mental hospital who have been in a catatonic state for 30 years or more due to having had encephalitis when younger. The doctor believes that the new drug L-Dopa, which is being used to treat Parkinson's disease patients might help them as well.
Robert De Niro plays Leonard, the first patient to try the treatment. Leonard becomes a fully functional person again and the doctor expands the treatment to other patients. Their joy at becoming "normal" again is short-lived when Leonard starts regressing to his former state.
This movie plays fast and loose with your emotions, but is not manipulative. It is based on a true story, but I don't know how much (if any) has been altered to make for a better story. Although basically a drama, there are many hilarious moments.
As Leonard, De Niro gives a highly effective performance along the lines of Dustin Hoffman in RAIN MAN and Daniel Day Lewis in MY LEFT FOOT, and he will no doubt be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. His joy at getting his life back is as compelling as his rage when he realizes he is losing it again.
As Robin Williams learns to tone down his manic comedic style, he is becoming a better and better actor. I think this is probably his best work since THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP.
Julie Kavner is the sympathetic nurse who believes in the doctor and becomes his biggest supporter among the otherwise doubting staff at the hospital. There are lots of other well-known character actors playing smaller roles too.
Director Penny Marshall (who also did BIG) demonstrates that she can do drama every bit as well as comedy. Could be the first female Best Director Oscar nominee.
Highly recommended, but bring a Kleenex or two.
-- Jim Pellmann (jpellmann@rational.com) .
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews