X
- 1990
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 1 m
- 1990
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 1 m
Summary By opening one man's eyes to the world... he opened his own. A true story of a maverick doctor and the patients whose lives he changes. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician who uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease beginning with Leonard, the first patient to receive the controversial treat...
Directed By: Penny Marshall
Written By: Oliver Sacks, Steven Zaillian
- 1990
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 1 m
- 1990
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 1 m
Awakenings
74
8.3
Where to Watch
Summary By opening one man's eyes to the world... he opened his own. A true story of a maverick doctor and the patients whose lives he changes. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician who uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease beginning with Leonard, the first patient to receive the controversial treat...
Directed By: Penny Marshall
Written By: Oliver Sacks, Steven Zaillian
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
74
78% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
22% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
74
78% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
22% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall, is a curiously engaging, genuinely haunting movie that rises above some dubious handicapped jokes and strange casting decisions to be truly special. [11 Jan 1991, p.5]
The director Penny Marshall has gone straight to the heart of this complex story and made a powerfully poignant and illuminating film. She doesn't hesitate to push for the grand sentimental moment, but balances the teary stuff with restraint and humor. To be sure, Awakenings seems calculated to induce weeping -- and it does, without making the weeper feel cheap. [20 Dec 1990, p.A14]
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 167 User Ratings
8.3
88% Positive
147 Ratings
147 Ratings
7% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
5% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 167 User Ratings
8.3
88% Positive
147 Ratings
147 Ratings
7% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
5% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
Awakenings is a great drama with Deniro and Williams. They give some of their best performances.
The story is fascinating and the movie will instantly become one of your favourites, A+.
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A touching and moving film.
I was very happy with this movie. I didn't know him, and I decided to watch him these days because I saw that the film had the participation of Robin Williams, an actor that I really appreciate. But the film goes beyond that, and gives us a deeply moving story, based on a real situation, in which a team of doctors who, in the 60's, sought to help the recovery of catatonic patients who had survived an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica that occurred a few decades earlier, between 1915 and 1926. A relevant and current topic, especially at a time in history when the human race is facing a pandemic that seems to be here to stay.
Despite the fact that this disease has always been known, the epidemic of the 1920s is, nowadays, totally forgotten, and by itself deserved more studies and attention from doctors and historians. In fact, I have to conclude, after a brief reading on the subject here and there, that we know very little about what happened: we don't know the causes of the outbreak, nor the mechanics of propagation or what led some patients to death or to catatonia. What we do know, and the film shows us, is that the disease has killed more than a million people and condemned about four million to a life absolutely dependent on others. Living statues. The film is really well done and shows how an original doctor, through creative ideas and a fresh perspective on things, really helped patients that others simply preferred to ignore, to consider as hopeless cases.
Robin Williams is excellent and employs a lot of charisma and presence in his work, making his character particularly touching, human, authentic and sympathetic. More surprising was Robert De Niro's performance: far removed from the tough roles that made him famous, the actor had the courage to give life to a vulnerable, insecure, dependent character, a little self-absorbed and eager to make up for decades of lost time. The film also has the participation of Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard and other actors.
The film has good cinematography and careful direction. The film was well filmed and edited, and has good sets and costumes, although it is the story told and the performance of the actors that are key to everything else working.
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Director Penny Marshall's choreography encompasses emotional as well as physical ebbs and flows. Awakenings lives up to its title. [11 Jan 1991]
Awakenings falls into the of traps of sentimentality and audience-pandering. It makes you laugh, cry, and marvel. But it also simplifies and falsifies all kinds of issues, from the intricacies of medical care to the realities of inner-city hospital funding. [7 Feb 1991]
For its first hour or so, this upscale heart tugger motors along familiar trails. So ennobling -- and predictable -- in director Penny Marshall's fidgety rendering of a case study by Oliver Sacks. [24 Dec 1990, p.77]
Awakenings is a film that unquestionably succeeds on its own terms, though those terms are deeply suspect. It is a canny piece of false art, one that consistently swaps meaning for superficial effect. [20 Dec 1990, p.1]
Очень приятное, простое, трогательное,с ясной моралью кино, которое смотрится на одном дыхании. Дуэт актёров прекрасен, каждый дополняет друг друга в кадре.
Советую к просмотру.
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I found this to be quite an emotional film, its quite touching and indeed hard to watch in parts, particularly towards the end. It asks some challenging questions (as covered above, under 'genre/themes') and is well portrayed by the cast. Its quite thought provoking and I found myself surprised by some things, such as the mother of one of the patients reaction to her previously young boy being more 'with it', suddenly being an adult, having not experienced teenage or young adult life. Its hard not to feel sorry for the various characters and emotionally there are both highs and lows due to the plotline.
The main character of Dr. Malcolm Sayer comes across as both sort of plain and straight to the point, while also being clearly very devoted to his patients and to his role, to trying to better them, which made me (as a viewer) more keen to see him succeed and to see what the final outcome would be. Some of the dialogue really is quite poignant - this is a film you'll likely want tissues available for when watching.
It does raise some moral questions and is quite good at that, I suppose. I wouldn't say its overly sensationalist - if anything negative could be said about it, its perhaps the slight over use of sentimental music making it seem a bit unnecessarily cheesy from the musical score point of view, infact perhaps sentimentality in general.
I'd recommend this film, as I found it to be quite touching and thought provoking with a good plotline and its particularly well portrayed with a good cast. It may not be for everyone I suppose but for what it is, the issues it covers, I'd say its well worth a watch.
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One of the best performance for De Niro, and Robin Williams also did a great job, the movie is great and worth to watch.
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Of course such a "life is beautiful and we need to enjoy it more" movie would be overrated by the majority. "The people in the movie is awesome or good or not bad. No shades. So, we keep realism out of the movie and we focus on the story and how is filmed.
Really cliché. The scenes start and you kind of know where they are going. All the little stories and characters are simple enough that you know how they would react, what they would do later, etc.
The score is the big difference here. Like Spielberg, without it, this would be kind of trash.
The acting is great. Even Robin Williams, which started like he always starts, but then he gets more real after the first act. When the line requires a sad reading of the line and no laughs or optimistic light, he does just that.
Its good and likeable and there's nothing wrong with that. Let's just not overrate it like is high in quality
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I didn't care that much for a movie but my mum Begin to cry at some point in the movie So if you have a mum that is a socialwoke or is a compassionate person se it with them
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
National Board of Review, USA
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
