Awakenings | Rotten Tomatoes

Awakenings

PG-13

Released Dec 20, 1990

2h 1m

Drama

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Awakenings: Trailer 1

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82%

Tomatometer

38 Reviews

89%

Audience Score

50,000+ Ratings

The story of a doctor's extraordinary work in the Sixties with a group of catatonic patients he finds languishing in a Bronx hospital. Speculating that their rigidity may be akin to an extreme form of Parkinsonism, he seeks permission from his skeptical superiors to treat them with L-dopa, a drug that was used to treat Parkinson's disease at the time.

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Critics Consensus

Elevated by some of Robin Williams' finest non-comedic work and a strong performance from Robert De Niro, Awakenings skirts the edges of melodrama, then soars above it.

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Stanley Kauffmann

The New Republic

Williams gives his best "straight" performance, shorn of all his marvelous manic vaudeville. The man he plays here is not a performer, which he was even in Dead Poets Society, but simply a man.

Aug 15, 2014

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Nonfunny Robin Williams role in moving story.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 22, 2010

Full Review

Noah Berlatsky

Splice Today

If Awakenings is a cure for Hollywood’s sexism, then it is, unfortunately, a cure which was painfully limited.

Apr 22, 2024

Full Review

Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

Though the film is directed with elegant reticence by the gifted Penny Marshall, it's diminished somewhat by Zaillian's tissue-thin adaptation which relies heavily on formulaic comedy, on cliches of character and plot.

Rated: 2/4

May 9, 2023

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Awakenings suffers from false optimism and, in the end, is inconsolably sad. [Full review in Spanish]

Jan 20, 2023

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Luke G

An emotional and poignant movie that engages and invests audiences into the struggles and denials of awakening back into the real world.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

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The H

cliche, cheesy, all the similar words

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/06/23

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Alex F

Intense movie. A dark introduction, then in the middle we get a fresh air of optimism and excitement - after which it gets back to even darker than it was. They brought patients to life - but then they lost them back again - making you wonder if it was even worth giving them this taste of normal life, as after they felt even more regret than without it. 1. I couldn't focus on the movie properly, because seeing De Niro in such an unusual role makes you pay attention to the wrong things and miss the point. But he did played his role with excellence, it's just my personal associations with his gangster image that the movies showed him as. 2. I still didn't get it. The doctor secretly gave Leonard a bigger dosage of that medicine (1000mg instead of the usual 300mg) and the patient woke up and felt good as never before. Than they refused to let him walk like a free man - suddenly he got nervous and got so mad - that it brought the symptoms back making him blocked again. So even though the doctor knew the right amount of medicine that could bring him back again - he decided to not - instead they prescribed only 500mg as allowed by "evil" administration.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

Full Review

Jessica L

I didn't see him in many serious roles, but I could see his compassion in this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

Full Review

Lara K

Wow 😢❤️ truly amazing

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/03/23

Full Review

Michael W

This medical movie was really good. Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, John Heard, Julie Kavner, Penelope Ann Miller, and the rest of the cast did a fantastic job in this movie. This true story about Dr. Malcolm Sayer experimenting on catatonic patients with a medication that can wake them up was dramatic, amazing, and heartfelt. It's about helping people with a condition that could bring them back to who they were and to live freely. If you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out sometime. It's a must see.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/06/23

Full Review

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Penny Marshall

Director

Robert De Niro

Leonard Lowe

Robin Williams

Dr. Malcolm Sayer

Julie Kavner

Eleanor Costello

Ruth Nelson

Mrs. Lowe

John Heard

Dr. Kaufman

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Awakenings: Official Clip - The Drug Isn't Working

2:37

Awakenings: Official Clip - The Will of the Ball

2:18

Awakenings: Official Clip - Remind Them How Good It Is

1:47

Awakenings: Official Clip - The Simplest Things

3:22

Awakenings: Official Clip - I Won't See You Anymore

2:29

Awakenings: Official Clip - You Woke A Person

2:14

Awakenings: Official Clip - The Strangest Dream

2:09

Awakenings: Official Clip - We're Talking About Money

1:29

Awakenings: Official Clip - You're Awake

2:29

Awakenings: Official Clip - Don't Give Up on Me

2:02

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Awakenings: Trailer 1

2:44

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Synopsis

The story of a doctor's extraordinary work in the Sixties with a group of catatonic patients he finds languishing in a Bronx hospital. Speculating that their rigidity may be akin to an extreme form of Parkinsonism, he seeks permission from his skeptical superiors to treat them with L-dopa, a drug that was used to treat Parkinson's disease at the time.

Director: Penny Marshall
Producer: Elliot Abbott, Penny Marshall, Arne Schmidt
Screenwriter: Steven Zaillian
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 20, 1990, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $49.4M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Surround

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