Review of Awakenings (1990) by Nanda K — 02 Apr 2011

The last time I saw this was sometime in the early 1990s. but back then I didn't really get much out of it, nor do I really remember much of it. Rediscovering it recently has been a great joy.

This is a remarkable and touching film that could have gone so many different ways, such as sappy melodrama, angry One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nestish anti-establishmentarianism, or what have you. There are elements of these things, but the film nicely finds a nice balance, and is probably all the better because of it.

This is a really good film, and I liked it a great deal, but I figured I would love it. That is not the case, but I'm not sure what it is that is keeping me from giving it a higher grade. Let's just call it a very high B+, because that seems like a great way to categorize it.

The performances are terrific. Again, like the film overall, the actors achieve a very nice balance, and avoid sending the wrong message, or overplaying it, espeically De niro and the other catatonics. It is so easy to make a wrong move playing a character such as that which demands sensitivity, yet still getting the point across. As Leonard, this seems to be one of De Niro's forgotten roles. That's a shame too, because he delivers a wonderful performance. Williams is also great as the doctor trying to reach him, as well as make a connection with the rest of the world, of which he has a hard time relating to. Julie Kavner is also really good as the nurse who is the closest to Williams's doctor.

This is going to sound really cynical, but it seems odd to me that this was a theatrical release. This is troubling because it seems to me like this kind of movie, if made today, would more than likely (for the most part) not be a theatrical film, and instead a tv-film for HBO or Showtime or something. I'm not knocking those productions, but it just seems sad to me that really good films like this aren't being made as much as they once seemed to.

Give this one a look, it's a heartwarming film that is touching, inspiring, yet not overbearing in its message.

The last time I saw this was sometime in the early 1990s. but back then I didn't really get much out of it, nor do I really remember much of it. Rediscovering it recently has been a great joy.

This is a remarkable and touching film that could have gone so many different ways, such as sappy melodrama, angry One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nestish anti-establishmentarianism, or what have you. There are elements of these things, but the film nicely finds a nice balance, and is probably all the better because of it.

This is a really good film, and I liked it a great deal, but I figured I would love it. That is not the case, but I'm not sure what it is that is keeping me from giving it a higher grade. Let's just call it a very high B+, because that seems like a great way to categorize it.

The performances are terrific. Again, like the film overall, the actors achieve a very nice balance, and avoid sending the wrong message, or overplaying it, espeically De niro and the other catatonics. It is so easy to make a wrong move playing a character such as that which demands sensitivity, yet still getting the point across. As Leonard, this seems to be one of De Niro's forgotten roles. That's a shame too, because he delivers a wonderful performance. Williams is also great as the doctor trying to reach him, as well as make a connection with the rest of the world, of which he has a hard time relating to. Julie Kavner is also really good as the nurse who is the closest to Williams's doctor.

This is going to sound really cynical, but it seems odd to me that this was a theatrical release. This is troubling because it seems to me like this kind of movie, if made today, would more than likely (for the most part) not be a theatrical film, and instead a tv-film for HBO or Showtime or something. I'm not knocking those productions, but it just seems sad to me that really good films like this aren't being made as much as they once seemed to.

Give this one a look, it's a heartwarming film that is touching, inspiring, yet not overbearing in its message.