Review of Wit (2001) by Alec B — 12 May 2008

In the great tradition of tv movies, this is one of the better ones I've seen. Emma Thompson gives her best performance as a professer of John Donne poetry who is dieing of cancer. The film may move too quickly (it was based on a play and I think a lot was cut) but there are some beautiful moments, as when a former teacher comes to visit Thompson's character on her last few hours and reads The Runaway Bunny, and refers to it as a analogy for the soul.

Also the use of Donnes poetry (seeing as how the man always wrote of death) as a way to come to terms with everything is very powerful. It's a very sad and moving film.