User reviews

Penny Marshall's Awakenings is a very emotional movie and heartwarming to say the least. Marshall has out done herself with this picture. The movie is a masterpiece. Robin Williams is great and Robert De Niro should have won the Oscar for his performance in this movie. De Niro hits every note perfectly and shows why he is the greatest actor of his generation. The movie is well written by Steven Zaillian and Penny Marshall did a super job. Bring a hankerchief to this one.

Such a great movie, no wonder why in the 90's it deserved some Oscar nominations. A touching, emotional and inspiring story about a shy doctor with no life that arrives to the chronic hospital in the Bronx to work with post-encephalitic patients, there he meets Leonard a man who's been catatonic for nearly 30 years.While he helps Leonard to restarts his life he began to learn how live his own. The plot is totally convincing and very well developed. The directing was great, Director Penny Marshall did a great job with a very simple view of how's the life of that kind of patients and of the people around them with a very good movie rhythm that flows perfectly and never bores you. The cast is simply excellent, having a pair of actors like Williams and De Niro together in the same film its just worthy. Robert De Niro's performance was flawless, there's no doubt that it was an Oscar nomination role, Robin Williams was also great as Dr. Malcolm Sayer, one of his best performances ever. The secondary roles from Penelope Ann Miller, Julie Kavner, John Heard and Ruth Nelson were very good and gave the necessary support to the movie. This was a enjoyable and tear dropping movie that touches the deepest region of your heart and soul and it will make you appreciate the simple things in life. Recommendable for everyone.

Awkward Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) has more difficulties dealing with people than with worms. He is a new hire to the understaffed psych ward. One day he noticed a previously assumed catatonic patient actually has reactions. Soon he finds other such patients including Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), and a drug that could possibly save them.

Penny Marshall created a film that plucks the heartstrings. It is a well crafted emotional tour de force. Robin Williams is able to restraint his manic energy to make Dr Sayer is a compelling man who learns to grow. Robert De Niro is playing the showier part, and he excels at it. The movie will leave you with a tear and a hope in your heart.

Awakenings is the most emotionally moving film I have ever seen. It delves deeply into one of the worst human fears, losing the ability to move and function, but it's never forced or manipulative, and there's no heavy-handed message or moral. It's just a fascinating story that's beautifully told.

The acting is as good as you will ever see. Robert DeNiro deftly handles all the emotional and physical challenges of his role, and Robin Williams demonstrates convincingly that he is an actor, not just a comedian. Williams is perhaps a bit too nerdy at first, but he captures perfectly all the hope, fear, exhilaration, and anguish that a doctor in that situation must be experiencing. Awakenings is based on actual people and events, and, to me at least, real events are always more powerful than even the best fiction.

Awakenings had big-name talent and Oscar nominations, but I don't think it ever had a big box office or became a popular video rental. That's a shame. I like escapist fare as much as the next guy, but once in a while, everyone should see a movie that you will remember and think about for a very long time. Awakenings deserves to be at the top of your list of movies to see.

It's a tale about a doctor(Robin Williams) taking on a new job in the Bronx. His new patients are something of the unusual. A handful of them share an unexplainable disease. The rare disease has left these people frozen in time. One of his main patients is a man named Leonard Lowe, played by Robert Deniro. Doctor Sayer begins a diligent study. To the present day, there are still many questions surrounding this strange disease. During one amazing season in the late 60's, a miracle happened.

In my opinion, both Robin Williams and Robert Deniro should have won Oscars for this film. I always say that Williams with a beard equals an amazing performance. His role as the meek Dr. Sayer is heartwarming. He plays perfectly off Deniro's character. Robert Deniro is golden as Leonard, the disease afflicted patient that gives all of his consciousness to help Dr. Sayer. With the help of a large dose of medicine and care all the patients and hospital staff have awakenings.

One of the most important words spoken in the film is: LEARN.

This film teaches me to appreciate life a little more every time I see it. It hopefully sends us the message to enjoy life. To love and embrace what we have and perhaps learn not to take the natural joys in life for granted is the message.

This is a stunningly beautiful and profoundly moving journey, and, amazingly, based on a true story. I never tire of watching this movie; it was one of my all-time favorites. DeNiro's performance totally blows me away every time. And Robin Williams is wonderful as Dr. Sayer. Even simply remembering the movie by reading others' reviews here is once again giving me chills and putting tears into my eyes. After seeing this movie I also became a huge fan of Dr. Oliver Sacks' writing and recommend it to anyone, especially those who enjoyed "Awakenings." His case studies are fascinating. An excellent movie. Do yourself a huge favour and see it.

Awakenings is a wonderful film for so many reasons. It is profoundly moving, intelligent and brilliantly performed, with a lot to recommend. It is exquisitely filmed, with wonderful cinematography and scenery, and the music is beautiful.

The direction is rock-solid, the story is moving and compassionate and the screenplay is very intelligent and thought-provoking. Then there are the performances, both Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro give outstanding performances, and John Heard and Julie Kavner are equally impressive.

Overall, if you like this sort of film, by all means see Awakenings, because I think you will like it. Equally if you love good acting and movies that make you think, Awakenings is also ideal. 10/10 Bethany Cox

"Awakenings" is a positively surprising career change of pace for its two leads, Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro. Based on a true story, the film is about the experimental drug invented by Dr. Oliver Sacks (Williams) and how it successfully awakened many paitents from catatonic states which had lasted as long as 30 years. DeNiro gives an especially moving performance as one of the paitents who also turns out to be one of the drug's biggest success stories. It's a real shame how overlooked this film turned out to be for Williams' career. He should be getting praised for his quality dramatic performances in films that matter like this one rather than for his inferior comedies. This film proves that Williams can successfully expand his range and be a great dramatic actor. The same goes for DeNiro and his performance here as well.

Awakenings follows the story of two men and their will to never give up. Leonard Low (Robert De Niro) fell victim to an encephalitis epidemic at a young age and has been left in a catatonic state for thirty years. His new doctor, Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is determined to to find a cure that will revive his patients.

A new drug, L-Dopa, offers hope to the patients. Dr. Sayer ignores the criticisms of his more pessimistic colleagues and drives forward with the drug. During the summer of 1969 the patients of Dr. Sayer awaken and come back to the present after being frozen in time. Led by Leonard the group starts to enjoy life to the fullest.

Robert Di Niro and Robin Williams give one of their best performances in this film. Di Niro in particular must have done a lot of research for his role to get down the symptoms of his ailment. Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) penned this beautiful script, his second screenplay, and director Penny Marshall (A League of Their Own) brings the story to life.

Unfortunately good things don't last forever, and the L-Dopa cure fails to work over time. Leonard and Dr. Sayer both fight this fact, but they have to come to terms with the limitations. This doesn't detour Leonard in the end though and he is happy to have experienced life again. It is heartbreaking experience, but Dr. Sayer takes Leonard's words to heart and chooses to be alive.

Besides when I was a child, I never actually cried during a movie. I've felt the urge to cry during some of them or had tears forming in my eyes, but they never really came out. Before I viewed "Awakenings," "Schindler's List" was the closest one to making me cry. Now, "Awakenings" has done it.

Another great thing about "Awakenings," is that it truly teaches us to appreciate the simple things in life that we take for granted, from taking a walk by yourself or reading a book or even just brushing your teeth.

I don't care what anyone says, both Robin Williams' and Robert DeNiro's performances were excellent and touching. I found this more touching then "Patch Adams." (But I guess "Patch Adams" is more of a Comedy/drama).

Give this great film a try. Grab the Kleenexs during Robert De Niro's first dance.

Being a psychiatrist I was able to evaluate this movie more accurately than most. It gives a simplified and exaggerated but basically accurate account of using a new drug (at the time--1969) to help neurologically seized up patients. The ward looks just like the one I worked on for years at a State Mental Hospital, even the same design of 50's furniture.

The movie is several steps above a Lifetime Television production (which it resembles). Another reviewer said that De Niro was hamming his performance... NO. A dopamine compromised or Parkinson's patient looks exactly like De Niro did only maybe worse.

The ending statement was a stupid platitude. Robbins says "the chemical has stopped working but the human spirit advances through friendships family blah blah blah..." what a lot of solace that would be to one of those patients.

In this movie one can see the provenance of Cocoon.

This movie should get about a 6.5 . Maudlin formula stuff but well done maudlin stuff. I gave it a 7.

RECOMMEND

This movie is a ripoff of the movie Charlie, except this time instead of one Charlie there's an entire ward full of Charlies. The movie does have a certain charm, but in total the story is contrived and is heaped in sentimentality. The acting is good, but the story is engrossed in wishful thinking and the principal characters are stereotypes. There is the sensitive doctor (played by Robin Williams), the long-suffering patient (played by Robert De Niro), the concerned relatives, the skeptical doctor, the nice orderlies, the supportive nurses, the eccentric patients - all hokey, all contrived, none believable. Literary license if given free reign in this transparent attempt to evoke audience response. Absent in this movie are the day-to-day mundane, yet critical, routines that characterize health care, especially in large institutions. Nor does the movie deal with the ethical or clinical implications of the kind of distorted doctor-patient interactions or of the medical experimentation depicted in this movie. This movie is another attempt by Hollywood to dramatize a topical issue - in this case medical ethics. The results are mixed. Nevertheless, given the nature of the story, which is about a doctor truly wanting to do something good, and failing, it is worth watching.

Despite an engaging premise, the treatment of patients suffering from Encephalitis lethargica, Penny Marshall delivered a totally academic movie. The story of this doctor and its discovery is depicted without any ounce of originality, everything is predictable and unsurprising from start to finish, and while you were expecting a powerful drama, you just end up watching a dreadfully banal and uninspired movie where every scene seems more melodramatic than the one before thanks to the schmaltzy violins. Robin Williams does the job rather well but what is intriguing is the cast of Robert De Niro in such a limited role that doesn't fit him. Conclusion : not a bad movie, but not a good one either.

As someone who has had a neurological condition that in some ways is similar to what the patients in Awakenings have I can tell you this is one of the most realistic portrayals of people afflicted with these types of diseases.

I too also tested a drug that seemed to work after the first dose. I experienced all of the hope and excitement at the fact I was improving and subsequently all the heartbreak when it didn't. I can only imagine the torment if I had not been allowed to experience my life for myself.

De Niro plays his part to perfection. No one could have done it better. It's as simple as that.

Here's a good example of how you can still make a great modern-day movie without profanity, violence or sex.

This is an amazing story, based on fact, about about a doctor who makes great progress fighting an illness that heretofore was considered incurable. These were patients in catatonic states, and the good doctor uses an experimental drug to snap these people back to reality and to a normal life as they once had. The patients, and how they react, both before and after the medications, is really fascinating.

Robert De Niro is outstanding as one of the patients, but that's not a surprise knowing all the fine acting performances he's done over the years. Robin Williams, relatively new to dramatic acting when this came out, was also excellent in a very low-key role. Penelope Ann Miller is extremely sweet and appealing. I wish both she and Williams would do more roles like that.

With multiple viewings, I came to appreciate the minor characters in here a lot more, such as De Niro's mother, played by Ruth Nelson, whom I fondly remember in the 1945 film "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn." What a treat is was to see her again and this was just two years before she died. Also, Alice Drummund as the patient known as "Lucy" was notable.

Language-wise, i's almost stunning to watch a movie which has De Niro, Williams, Miller and John Heard and not hear one profane word uttered! (The film isn't perfect, however, as some idiot decided to insert one f-word, and in a totally unnecessary circumstance.)

This is a memorable story and one I guarantee you won't forget because the subject matter is so different.

Simply put, this is one of the greatest movies ever. This is easily the most powerful tearjerker that I've ever seen, thanks in large part to the brilliant performances by Williams and De Niro. But to be fair, the whole cast was excellent, and they were helped by a script that was nearly perfect. For me, the scenes with Miller proved to be the most emotional, but really, the whole film was heartwarming or heartbreaking on some level. I don't tend to get emotional when watching movies, but this film managed to find a way into my heart, and I can't possibly recommend this movie enough to those of you who haven't been lucky enough to see it yet.

... is just one of the many quotable quotes in this film that will stick with you. This one is one of my personal favorites and just about as perfect as modern (post 1970) movie making gets. The messages and comparisons of the film are rather obvious, but the individual scenes, the characters, and the acting are superlative.

Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is a complex individual - he's a physician - a healer of men - who is scared to death of all mankind. In fact he seems to be scared of all living things including a friendly neighborhood dog. He's gotten away with pure research positions up to the present, but now, in 1969 and in need of a job, he takes a job as a physician in a chronic care hospital. Now here's the complexity - You'd think a man who is afraid of other people would just sit back and perform his rounds and be grateful to be around patients who are as physically catatonic as he is emotionally catatonic. However, his humanity and intellectual curiosity are stronger than his fear and desire to hide as he begins to notice "patterns" in both the behavior and in the records of some of his patients that makes him believe that they may still be "alive inside". This leads to research that pinpoints one illness that all of the patients had in common - encephalitis lethargica that spread worldwide from 1917 to 1928. After the illness subsided, sometimes years later, would the catatonia gradually set in.

Dr. Sayer manages - with great difficulty - to get funding to try a new drug on these particular patients, and they awaken, some after 40 years, many in their 60's physically, but in their 20's emotionally.

The focus of the movie, though, is on the friendship that forms between Leonard Lowe (Robert DeNiro), a 50 year old victim of the disease, and Dr.Sayer. Leonard's mother (Ruth Nelson as Mrs. Lowe) is one of the few people visiting on a regular basis after all of these years - Leonard has been here for 30 years, ill since age 11, catatonic since age 20. So the focus is on Leonard's love of life once awakened versus Dr. Sayer's fear of it - this is the obvious part of the film. However that doesn't take anything away from De Niro doing a great job of playing someone who isn't a tough guy for a change and from Robin Williams from playing one of his most dramatic roles, both characters extremely vulnerable in their own way. Julie Kavner is pitch perfect as Dr. Sayer's loyal ,hard working, and assertive nurse and assistant. Ruth Nelson gives a performance of a lifetime, just two years before her death, as a mother who has dedicated her life to a son she remembers as and has cared for as a child for almost 40 years but is a bit perplexed when he awakens as a man and his fancy turns towards love. For once she has a rival for her son's attention, which is not unusual. What is unusual is that she has to deal with this 30 years later than most mothers.

There are heartbreaking scenes, there are funny scenes, and one scene in particular that brings to light how people sometimes will dismiss something as possible because it just seems too horrible. My favorite scene in this latter category: Dr. Sayer, when doing his research on the catatonic patients, visits the eminent physician Dr. Peter Ingham (Max Von Sydow). Ingham was dealing with the catatonia when it first developed in the 20's and 30's. When Dr. Sayer asks Dr. Ingham how he knows that the virus has not spared the patients higher faculties he responds: "Because the alternative is unspeakable." Classic.

Awakenings (1990)

**** (out of 4)

Incredibly powerful drama based on a true story about Dr. Sayer (Robin Williams) who gets a job at a mental hospital where many patients are suffering from some sort of catatonic disease that leaves them motionless. Sayer begins to experiment on a man named Leonard (Robert DeNiro) who hasn't moved in over thirty-years but soon the drug works and brings the man out of this state. This is an extremely fascinating and at times very depressing tale that works on several levels. One level is that we can look at Leonard and ask ourselves what life would be life if it was taken away for thirty years, given back to us for a short period only to have it taken away. This is where the film remains the most powerful because Leonard is someone we can feel sorry for but at the same time his level of wonder is something that we can all hope for. DeNiro's performance here gained him an Oscar-nomination and it's certainly one of the strongest of his career, which is saying quite a bit considering how many great performances he has out there. What makes this one so special is that when we think of DeNiro it's that tough guy but here he brings so much heart and passion to Leonard that we quickly fall in love with him and care for everything that's going to happen. All the various ranges and emotions this character goes through is something pretty remarkable and DeNiro takes each one and really does a marvelous job with it. Whether it's the early stages of Leonard's awakening where he's pretty much like a child learning again or towards the end when the drug or the illness starts to take his life back over. Even if you withdraw yourself from the emotions of the story and just watch DeNiro, the way he walks, talks and has the seizure like movements are just amazing to watch and he doesn't miss a beat. Williams also turns in one of his strongest performances. It's important that we can believe him in this role and for the most part he holds his own with DeNiro. The two work extremely well together and have countless memorable moments. Julie Karver, John Heard and Penelope Ann Miller add nice supporting performances as well. This is at times a hard film to watch due to how depressing it gets at times but it's still a very rewarding experiences due to its message as well as the excellent performances.

This is one of those films that never really appealed to me but found myself watching because there was nothing else on. Overall, I'm glad I did. Awakenings is a sincere and moving account of a true episode in which several patients in (for want of a better phrase) a near-vegetative state) awoke from their condition after being administered L-Dopa, a wonder drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. All things considered, it's quite a surprise that Hollywood took more than 20 years to make a film about it.

There's plenty of room for over-sentimentality here, but for the most part director Penny Marshall and writer Steve Zaillan manage to sidestep the obvious pitfalls, straying only occasionally into Hollywood schmaltz. Robert De Niro delivers a convincing performance as Leonard, the middle-aged man who lapsed into this vegetative state when he was 20-years-old after suffering encephalitis as a child. Robin Williams tones down his manic persona for the role of the shy doctor who brings about this miracle cure - and given that he couldn't have been an obvious casting choice he does extremely well.

Although it avoids overt sentimentality, the film does contain some typical Hollywood touches which, given the nature of the story, may be unavoidable. For example, people who haven't spoken or moved freely for 30 years are able to speak and move with little difficulty while in reality they would, like coma patients, need months of physio and speech therapy. But unless, like me, you're naturally cynical about the amount of truth contained in 'based on a true story' films, this can be written off as nit-picking on my part I suppose.

Can someone please tell me WHY Penny Marshall never received an Academy Award nomination for this? This is an excellent movie. A truly great film. My opinion? DeNiro's best role to date. He was superb. While I loved "Schindler's List," I think DeNiro's role by far out muscled Liam Neeson as an Oscar contender. (No disrespect to Neeson intended.) But I'm still disappointed over that one.

Robin Williams was wonderful, as well. As was Julie Kavner. Can't believe we never saw much of her after this role. She's a definite talent. Excellent casting by Marshall.

For anyone out there who hasn't seen it, RUSH to your video store TODAY! It's truly one of those "Don't Miss" films. It will definitely give you some life perspective.

As for Ms. Marshall - I believe one of these days, we are going to be seeing an Oscar with her name on it. "Best Director!" She gives all women in film something to strive for.

I love psychology, and a fan of Oliver Sacks, this movie is definitely made safe for a wide audience. As such there's a lot of pitfalls. MOSTLY in the acting and directing. I was shocked to see Penny Marshall's name as the director. She's usually quite talented. Don't know what was going on here.

The movie is about an epidemic of water on the brain patients and how an early life illness turned them all catatonic, and a drug usually used to treat Parkinson's helped 'awaken' them. So it has its manufactured feel good moments, does end on a sad note, but you realize, according to the movie, that it was the hospital that failed everyone and not the drug or the Sacks facsimile played by Robin Williams.

The thing with portraying mental patients is, you have to be SUPER CAREFUL, and I don't think they were. A lot of these performances border on caricature, and I know it's not INTENTIONAL, but the road to hell are paved with good intentions. Like this one scene where Sacks (I forgot his fake name in the movie) was doing his rounds as a new doctor on the ward, and is interviewing a normal woman, then takes out his pen, clicks it and she cartoonishly freaks out. YIKES. I mean I get that happens, but her "acting" was more comedic than believable manic.

Sigh, it's a movie of its time, and as such ages like milk. I don't recommend it.

I'm not too sure what I was hoping for going into Awakenings, but it turned out to be the worst case scenario. Written by Steven Zaillain and directed by Penny Marshall, it tells the true story of a doctor who uncovers a miracle drug which he uses to heal a ward of comatose patients. The narrative awkwardly splits itself into focusing on the doctor, played by Robin Williams who you can tell is in a dramatic role because he has a beard and is wearing a leather jacket, and one of the patients named Leonard Lowe, played by Robert De Niro.

The focus is split between the two of them, but not in a very cohesive way at all. Instead, we open up focusing entirely on Doctor Sayer, after a brief look at Lowe's beginning of his disease, and spend the entire first half of the film just with him. Then, as the drug is introduced to Leonard we change the focus almost entirely to him and Sayer becomes a background character instead. It's a really jarring shift in character and the change was hard to adjust to. The focus of the film becomes how someone reacts to the world after decades in a comatose state, which is obviously where they were headed all along so certainly there could have been a more fluid way to transition into that.

Marshall never establishes a proper tone, constantly in this limbo between comedy and drama that feels awkward, inappropriate and ultimately just falls flat. At the start it wasn't that hard of a film to watch, but around the halfway point it began to become increasingly dull until the last half hour was almost unbearable in it's tiresomeness. Zaillain's script never takes on the real issues that these characters would face, taking the heavy themes and glossing over them aside from a few scenes of apparent emotional manipulation.

Williams gives a serviceable portrayal but his character gets tossed aside once the "more interesting" one comes along, and De Niro gives maybe the worst performance of his career. He got an Oscar nomination for it which is just a hilarious display of their tendency to throw any kind of award to a popular actor playing a disability, because this performance is so absurdly hammed up it's borderline appalling. His whole display is laughable and every time I was supposed to feel for this character (as I was so unsubtly told by the writer/director) I ended up laughing.

Toss in an unnecessary and dismally undeveloped romance subplot for each character and this is a film that doesn't know what it's doing but makes sure it ticks all of the boxes this kind of wreck is made to be. Awakenings is the worst kind of exploitative garbage and it does a disservice to the real-life people it's portraying.