Wit

Rating:
Summary: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH...
Review: This brilliant adaptation of Margaret Edison's Pulitzer Prize winning play is simply superb. Beautifully directed by Mike Nichols, it is peppered with superlative performances by its cast. It is almost hard to believe that this profoundly moving and poignant film was released for HBO, rather than as a major box office, big screen release.

Tautly written, this remarkable film focuses on an intense and brilliant professor of English, forty eight year old Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson), whose academic focus has been metaphysical poetry. She has just been diagnosed by a noted oncologist, Dr. Kelikian (Christopher Lloyd), as having stage four ovarian cancer. She agrees to undergo an eight month long clinical trial to fight this illness, which at the juncture of its discovery is, invariably, terminal. This course of experimental treatment is Professor Bearing's only hope, as she realizes that there is no stage five.

As she undergoes agonizing medical procedures which, it is hoped, may save her life, Professor Bearing muses on a number of life issues in the form of droll monologues. It is these reflections on her life and her illness that drive home to the viewer her humanity, as she struggles to reconcile the abstract with reality. An aloof, spare woman, with a penchant for being a demanding and exacting teacher, Professor Bearing is now trying to hang on to her humanity and dignity, as she is reduced to being a mere lump of flesh.

Made to suffer the indignities imposed by an experimental medical treatment that is brutally aggressive and by the ravages of an illness that is relentless, Professor Bearing keeps a stiff upper lip throughout, never letting down her guard, until the end draws near. During her medical oddysey, she is buoyed by the ministrations of her compassionate, primary care nurse, Susie (Audra McDonald), who seems to be the only member of the medical staff interested in her as a person, rather than as just another cog in the world of medical research. Susie is a perfect foil to the ambitious medical treatment fostered by a callow, though brilliant, young doctor, Jason Posner (Jason M. Woodward).

The most singular scene in this film, however, occurs near its end. It is the scene in which Professor Bearing's mentor, Professor E.M. Ashford (Eileen Atkins), visits her one time protege at the hospital. Heartrending, poignant, and infinitely beautiful, it is a scene so richly drawn that it that will haunt the viewer long after the film is over.

Ms. Thompson gives a consummate, beautifully nuanced performance, as does Eileen Atkins. Audra McDonald gives a tender perfomance, and Christopher LLoyd and Jason M. Woodward are, likewise, excellent in their respective roles. Harold Pinter does a wonderful, though brief, turn as Professor Bearing's father. All in all, this is a deftly directed, outstanding film with award calibre performances by the entire cast. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: EMMA THOMPSON AT HER GREATEST
Review: Emma Thompson has established herself as one of the great actresses of this or any generation thanks to her superlative work in Howards End, Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility, In the Name of the Father, to name my personal favorites. I wasn't prepared for the powerhouse work on WIT. But WOW--that's the kind of acting that only a handful of actresses have accomplished. It's heartfelt, without being pitiful. It's funny, without being cynical. It's tragic, without being sentimental or melodramatic. In a word: PERFECTION. WIT is the story of an intellecual snob who is dying of cancer and comes to the realization that all her intellect and snobbery means nothing, ultimately. The film takes place in a hospital where Thompson's character, a university professor who specializes in the poems of John Donne, is undergoing an experimental type of chemotherapy that's literally eating her inside out. It's not an easy movie to watch, but in the end you feel transformed emotionally. The scene in which her own university professor reads her a children's book is heartwrenching. I loved this film. It gave me a new perspective on cancer, the suffering patients go through, some of the callousness that sometimes occurs in a hospital setting, and, most significantly to me personally, broadened my understanding of and gave me a new respect for the human spirit, that spirit which transcends pain and fear of the unknown. Thank you Ms. Thompson for this beautiful work of art.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: I am a junior in high school and I watched this DVD in my english class; we are learing about John Donne. In Wit, the main character (Viviane Bearing) is a scholar of Donne. This movie completely changed the way I veiwed life and death. It shocked me to know what cancer patients have to go through; from lonely days to unsentimental doctors. Whoever wrote the play that insprired this movie must be an absolute genius, and if you only buy one DVD this year, you'll be wasting your money if it isn't Wit.

Rating:
Summary: So good... at a loss for words!
Review: This movie is simply outstanding. The acting is absolutely remarkable. Emma Thompson exceeds the norm. This is a story about life and compassion. Every person even remotely connected to health care should be required to see this movie. The story line and the character of Vivian Bearing are deeply touching. There is a portrayal of a basic human need and humanity that grips the soul unlike any film in recent years. A box of tissue is definitely recommended. The direction of Mike Nichols is extremely impressive. Overall, this is easily the best film in a decade.

The story revolves around an English professor, Vivian Bearing, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The movie follows her life from the diagnosis through her treatment and offers a perspective from a patient rather than the medical staff. This perspective shows strength and vulnerability, logic and emotion. Emma Thompson transforms this character as a bold and confident professor in the beginning to a woman who, it seems, is experiencing the truth and meaning in life for the first time while facing an extremely advanced medical condition.

Anyone who is looking for an intellectual film regarding a real life issue should watch this incredible movie. Just be prepared for a flood of emotion induced by this magnificent film. The acting just could not be better! See it for yourself! Words do not seem to give this film justice!

Rating:
Summary: Sad but wonderful
Review: Emma Thompson and Mike Nichols team up to bring us a heart-wrenching adaptation of Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Emma stars as Vivian Bearing ("B-E-A-R-I-N-G")--a scholar and professor of the metaphysical poetry of John Donne--who is going through chemotherapy ("the full dose") for Stage 4 metastatic ovarian cancer ("there is no Stage 5").

Emma is absolutely believable in this tough role. She brings the sickness to life while making us sympathetic towards an unsympathetic (and "uncompromising") woman. I bought it all the way. Also of note are Audra McDonald as Nurse Susie, and Jonathan M. Woodward as Jason, a former student of Vivian's who is now her doctor.

Nichols and Thompson adapted the screenplay (teleplay?) and expanded the setting, making it a fuller experience. As this was made for HBO, they were not tied down by expectations of box-office success and were thus able to create the true film that needed to be made. This is one of those rare films that is perfect in every way.

Rating:
Summary: PROFOUNDLY SUITABLE MUSIC
Review: I won't comment on the excellence of this film as many commentators have done this in their reviews to date. I simply would like to add that I found the music to be completely appropriate, particularily Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,Nonesuch Records with Soprano Dawn Upshaw).

The second movement was inspired by a prayer scratched on the wall of a Nazi Gestapo prison cell by a young Polish women whose life was unexpectedly and tragically ended by the brutalism of WWII. Replace prison with hospital and WWII with cancer and you have the tragedy of Dr Bearing (Emma Thompson). This particular recording had wide appeal and immediately became a best seller when it first became available.

The prayer follows: Mother, no, do not cry,/ Queen of Heaven moste chaste/ Help me always./ Hail Mary.

Rating:
Summary: Deeply moving.
Review: Emma Thompson's and Mike Nichols's HBO teleplay based on Margaret Edson's stage play was both fascinating and emotional.

Thompson plays Vivian Bearing, an English professor who is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. The film follows her from her diagnosis to her death; during this time she questions life and finds her answers while examining the sonnets of John Donne. The implication that life is simply an observation by the people who live is deeply provocative and moving.

Direction by Nichols is superb, and cinematography by Seamus McGarvey is terribly poignant: the final scene in particular is breathtaking. The cast is first-class, led by an impeccable performances by Emma Thompson and four-time Tony-winner (wow!) Audra McDonald. HBO has once again delivered a winning piece of cinematic art to its audiences.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Powerful Films
Review: I have just read through some of the Customer Reviews for Wit here on Amazon and felt an urge to try my own for the first time. Just going through the reviews alone brought tears to my eyes, as they brought back hauntingly beautiful and powerful images of the movie to my memory. And it's been over six months since I watched the actual movie! I absolutely adore this film and admire its director and all the talented actors, without whom this extraordinary masterpiece could not have existed. Although I don't personally know of anyone (no one too close anyways) who had to go through a terrible scourge that is cancer, and English is not my first language, this film touched my heart to its deepest core and spawned an interest in John Donne and other English literary works. It made me go out and buy an Arvo Pärt CD as well! Thank goodness I could be one of the few people who were fortunate enough to discover this on CatchOn(HBO-affiliate of Korea). Now all I need is a Wit Soundtrack if only they would release one!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and moving
Review: I am a nursing student currently, and as a requirement for one of my classes I had to watch this movie. I wasn't terribly interested in it, and I though tit would be another boring film to watch in class, because lets face it, most of them are! But this movie perfectly illustrated what many patients in the hospital face daily. Every time I walk into a patient's room and ask them how they are feeling I think back to the scene where she talks about that. It gives you a sense of what someone faces after a battle with a serious disease, and to get that glimpse into something that I will hopefully never understand is a gift. Warning, because this movie is an unrelenting tearjerker towards the end! The majority of my class was crying.

Rating:
Summary: As a cancer survivor -
Review: I found this to be an incredibly moving film. Emma Thompson's perfomance was superb. As someone who has been there, I can truly say that she portrayed the emotions that one goes through at diagnosis and during treatment perfectly. Thankfully, I have been in remission for almost two years. I was riveted by this film. It put into words everything I felt.....boredom, sickness, pain and fear. How a person feels in the medical system. How lonely it is day after day in the hospital. How wonderful it can be when someone takes the time to really talk to you.

After it was over, I could not stop crying. I felt like I was back "there", in that dark place. I was grieving for Vivian, who did not survive, while being thankful for myself, who did.