Awakenings
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Catalog
Review
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Cast
- Robert De Niro
Leonard Lowe - Robin Williams
Dr. Malcolm Sayer - John Heard
Dr. Kaufman - Penelope Ann Miller
Paula - Julie Kavner
Eleanor Costello - Max von Sydow
Dr. Peter Ingham - Ruth Nelson
Mrs. Lowe - Peter Stormare
Neurochemist
14 Reviews
(no spoilers in this text)
It’s a true and really interesting story but made Hollywood style. It’s not realistic by any means, most characters are archetypes, and situations feel very artificial, with very rough and clumsy way to portray the characters with the implicit…
But it kind of works overall thanks to good acting and, then again, a really engaging story, especially when you know it really happened (though probably not quite like that). Nice, feel good right-thinking Hollywood stuff.
It’s a true and really interesting story but made Hollywood style. It’s not realistic by any means, most characters are archetypes, and situations feel very artificial, with very rough and clumsy way to portray the characters with the implicit…
But it kind of works overall thanks to good acting and, then again, a really engaging story, especially when you know it really happened (though probably not quite like that). Nice, feel good right-thinking Hollywood stuff.
Published
For some reason I saw this a long time ago with my dad. He said it was a really well-done film, and I don't entirely disagree with him now.
As a film, its focus is clearly on the characters and their relationship (as opposed to maybe technical qualities, since these are boilerplate). Casting Williams was the perfect choice. Who embodies radiant positivity more than Robin Williams? And this role, an undefeatable beacon of hope in otherwise bleak circumstances, was perfect for him. Even the scenes where he's an introverted outcast while everyone else is dancing, Williams is able to evoke that un-comfortability rather well.
De Niro is a bit of a stranger choice-- for example, GoodFellas came out just 3 months before. We're used to him being a gangster tough guy, but here he plays a bit of a teddy bear, a scientific puzzle, and the emotion-pulling core of the film. What would happen if a man was paralyzed for most of his life, but suddenly given free control as an adult? It's a strange question, but that's exactly why De Niro works. Someone else might answer the question with a saccharine performance, since it would be easier to go full-on tear-jerking. But De Niro is human and immediate, and as the film goes on, he leans comfortably into this emotional role. It's unexpected, but welcome, and really proves to me that De Niro is a versatile actor.
Like I mentioned, this film isn't incredibly complicated or technically fascinating. But its two lead performances really shine and its direction is subtle. I don't often return to this--the last time I saw this was probably the time I saw it with my dad almost ten years ago. Revisiting it made me realize I don't need to see it again for another ten years probably. It's still too melodramatic for me (it is a melodrama, after all). But more important, its bleak story and existential theme has lasted pretty well in my mind.
As a film, its focus is clearly on the characters and their relationship (as opposed to maybe technical qualities, since these are boilerplate). Casting Williams was the perfect choice. Who embodies radiant positivity more than Robin Williams? And this role, an undefeatable beacon of hope in otherwise bleak circumstances, was perfect for him. Even the scenes where he's an introverted outcast while everyone else is dancing, Williams is able to evoke that un-comfortability rather well.
De Niro is a bit of a stranger choice-- for example, GoodFellas came out just 3 months before. We're used to him being a gangster tough guy, but here he plays a bit of a teddy bear, a scientific puzzle, and the emotion-pulling core of the film. What would happen if a man was paralyzed for most of his life, but suddenly given free control as an adult? It's a strange question, but that's exactly why De Niro works. Someone else might answer the question with a saccharine performance, since it would be easier to go full-on tear-jerking. But De Niro is human and immediate, and as the film goes on, he leans comfortably into this emotional role. It's unexpected, but welcome, and really proves to me that De Niro is a versatile actor.
Like I mentioned, this film isn't incredibly complicated or technically fascinating. But its two lead performances really shine and its direction is subtle. I don't often return to this--the last time I saw this was probably the time I saw it with my dad almost ten years ago. Revisiting it made me realize I don't need to see it again for another ten years probably. It's still too melodramatic for me (it is a melodrama, after all). But more important, its bleak story and existential theme has lasted pretty well in my mind.
Published
Great performances from Williams and De Niro.
And a great supporting cast (mainly the patients).
And a great supporting cast (mainly the patients).
Published
While it’s interesting to see De Niro playing such an unusual role, but it’s also pretty ridiculous and kinda awful to watch. He does a good job with it, certainly, but an able-bodied person playing a mentally handicapped dates this film rather a lot. Condescending and shallow, all things considered.
Published
Its hard to argue against this when De Niro and Williams were at the top of their games in this era. Williams was just an incredible actor in the late 80s/early 90s and he could do no wrong. This is a very tragic movie based on a true story of a psychiatrist who finds medication that is able to cure patients who have a disease that basically renders them unable to move. Its very heartwarming seeing Sayer interact with them and how much joy they get out of finally being able to experience life again. It does have a pretty sad ending, but at the same time, it brings attention to these people. The movie might at times drag out and have hardly anything happen, but it still has good acting and plenty of interesting moments.
Published
As amazing as the story the film is based upon is, "Awakenings" could have easily been a sappy disaster but Marshall directs this tastefully and definitely owes a huge debt to both De Niro and Williams for delivering incredible performances (Williams' performances rivals the one he gave in "Good Will Hunting" as his all time best). Genuinely moving.
Published
The movie equivalent of a mouse-trap with cheese; a contraption shamelessly designed to bring Oscar recognition and glory. Awakenings was nominated for three but walked away empty-handed. Obviously not for lack of trying. Penny Marshall's competent and reasonably captivating movie could have amounted to a lot more than that, however. In particular, DeNiro's performance just seems to get better as it goes and Robin Williams was-as always-so much more effective and winning in dramatic turns than his comedic roles. The problem is that this dramatization of an actual medical case from 1969 in which cationic patients "awaken" due to an experimental drug treatment and regain cognizance is actually disturbing in the end. Yet the screenplay (an adaptation of the book by the late great Dr. Oliver Sacks) goes for heartwarming and uplift. Steve Zillian's adaption also shows scant interest in how DeNiro's character-who contracted encephalitis lethargia as a teen-would likely retain the sensibilities of a very young man despite his middle-aged body, like a non-fantasy version of Big. Which isn't to say Awakenings doesn't work, just that it feels facile. Credit where's it due though: flipping around the Williams and DeNiro parts would've made for a dreadful movie, so a tempting mistake avoided.
Published
Seeing for the second time. The story is still sad and touching even there's happiness for a small amount of time. Both Robin Williams and Robert De Niro make a good performance. Dullness ruins otherwise beautifully sad story, perhaps making this a bit thicker might have helped.
Published
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