Wit

Rating:
Summary: Profound Wit
Review: 5 stars. Beyond that, I am speechless...

Rating:
Summary: A great stage play; a very good movie
Review: The director and cast have done a fine job in putting this multi-layered screenplay together as a film. If you're not familiar with the play, or the story, you may have to watch it again to catch some of the nuances. That may be difficult, because the subject matter is so gut-wrenching at the emotional level. See the other reviews below for more details. Personally, I think Margaret Edson did a wonderful job balancing the pain and suffering with genuine humor and warmth, although the humor comes across better on stage.

I first saw "Wit" in its original performance at South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa, California, and thought it was the finest play I had ever seen. Since then, we've seen it twice more on the stage, most recently at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. In every instance, the actress playing Vivian Bearing did a superb job, and the audience gets the full impact when in a small, intimate theater, seating only 150 or so people. There's a visceral connection as you watch Professor Bearing metamorphose before your eyes from a confident woman, certain of herself and her place in the world, needing no one, through the terrible effects of chemotherapy and its humbling of your soul, to a place of final acceptance and transcendence.

And some of that doesn't make it into this film adaption, perhaps because it's harder for the actress to connect with the audience in the film medium than it is in person. At the end of the play, on stage the actress slowly moves away from the Code Blue team, in effect watching her body die, but moving toward an ever-brightening light as she moves from this existence. That's a powerful image. It's also not in the film.

The performances on this DVD were excellent, though, as are the quality of the picture and sound on DVD. One disappointment, though - Emma Thompson did such a superb job in her commentary on the DVD for "Sense and Sensibility" that I wish they had added a commentary track with her and Mike Nichols as a special feature for this DVD. While this was a very good movie, the DVD falls a little short of the kind of special features that we have come to expect now of high quality DVDs, and this, plus my view that it's not as good as the stage play version, caused me to rate it as 4 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A face that says everything
Review: The most amazing part of this film is that so much of it is expressed through facial expressions--and the power of that physical language is unforgettable. This is no hollywood look at cancer--it is more honest and less sentimental. And it is also more honest about the emotional distance that people prefer to keep in regards to death and pain.

Rating:
Summary: Coming to grips with paradoxes
Review: Two wonderful works are highlighted in "Wit" -- one of John Donne's Holy Sonnets ("Death be not proud") and "The Runaway Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown. "Wit"'s author, Margaret Edson, pulls these two seemingly distant texts into her script and uses them in the most amazing (witty?) way. Donne's metaphysical sonnets are notoriously difficult and are often approached as beautifully wrought puzzles -- puzzles that are so intellectually daunting the emotion that underlies them is sometimes missed. "The Runaway Bunny," on the other hand, is probably seen by many readers as a very simple tale full of feeling but not particularly challenging. Yet Edson shows us how deep and multilayered a children's tale can be while also demonstrating the basic human feeling underneath the most cerebral of poems. The simple becomes complex; the complex, simple. We get the most out of literature when we approach it with our full humanity engaged, ignoring neither our thoughts nor our feelings. "Wit" tells us that we get the most out of life when we approach it in the same way. Emma Thompson's cancer-stricken English professor, Vivian Bearing, ultimately triumphs over death by surrendering to it -- and it is this Donne-ish paradox that "Wit" illustrates so well. In the end, "Wit" wisely questions the notions 1) that intellect and emotion are two separate faculties and 2) that simplicity and complexity are necessarily opposites. (One hallmark of Donne's "wit" -- a term Donne's contemporaries would've understood as creative invention -- was its examination of semantic antonyms.) "Wit" also reminds us that the infinite can be both large and small.
John Donne knew this stuff, and apparently so did Margaret Wise Brown. And, luckily for us, so does "Wit"'s author, Margaret Edson. By the way, if you've never read the above-mentioned Donne poem, here it is: Holy Sonnet ("Death be not proud") by John Donne Death be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe, / For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow, / Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee; / From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee, / Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, / And soonest our best men with thee doe goe, / Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie. / Thou'art slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, / And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell, / And poppie,' or charmes can make us sleepe as well, / And better then they stroake; why swell'st thou then? / One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, / And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.

Rating:
Summary: painful, but mesmerizing
Review: This movie was painful to watch for me. My mom recently died of cancer.

I caught this movie on HBO one night, not having heard of it before then. I knew going in that it would be painful, but the movie was mesmerizing.

My mom also went through a bunch of experimental therapies, and this movie really has it pegged. I really want to buy the movie because it was excellent, but I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it again.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Film
Review: I first learned of "Wit," after it won the Pulitzer Prize and then because I am a huge fan of Audra McDonald and had learned that she would be appearing in it. Later, my community theater produced it to rave reviews, but I didn't get the chance to see it. Finally, I had a friend record it for me off of HBO, and what can you say? This is a perfect film. This is a perfectly-acted, perfectly-directed, perfectly-adapted film. Where could they have assembled a better supporting cast? I have never seen Christopher Lloyd like that before - a revelation! And Audra McDonald adds yet another triumph to her ever-growing resumé! Eileen Atkins was simply heartbreaking in just those two small scenes, and Jonathan Woodward had his character nailed. But perhaps the greatest triumph of this film is Ms. Thompson herself. I had simply known the name and the reputation before "Wit," had never seen any of her performances. This performance was shocking, wonderful, haunting, unforgettable. There is no finer film actress today. Mike Nichols' nimble, inventive direction created the effect of the stage manuscript onscreen. His and Ms. Thompson's adaptation is smart and sophisticated, with an evident knowledge of the screen and deep understanding of the original piece. All in all, I don't think anyone else could have done a better job. And a final thank you to Ms. Edson herself, for such a beautiful piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: Death, be not proud...
Review: If you were fortunate enough to see Wit on HBO, then you probably agree that it made you a better person. Wit takes you through the horrible journey of cancer, down to its rawness, to its darkest moments. Incredibly, though you would think so, this movie was not depressing...it was uplifting. The intelligence and inspiring idea's behind Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson) is that you can find irony and humility within the written word. She is a literary professor that takes her studies very seriously, believing her lessons will one day help her student's find understanding in life. All too soon she realizes that she will need it more than she could have ever fathomed. Christopher Lloyd does terrifically as her personal physician, and shows a new side to his tallent. Personally, I more enjoyed the scenes when she sits and talks to us as if we were there with her, experiencing the pain, knowing what she knows and feeling what she feels. As if we are Vivian's only friends. Rarely...and I rarely distribute the word rarely...a movie like Wit comes along, and deals with a subject that is all too common, and yet sheds a brighter light, for us to see and learn something new. Emma Thompsons performance is one of the greatest one-woman shows in the history of film. Though her surrounding characters were greatly supportive, she carried the film, there's no doubting it. As Vivian Bearing, she is unshakable as a heart-set woman determined to succeed. By using her wit, those things we find so horrible, will suddenly make sense.

Rating:
Summary: DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Review: Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,

Doctor Vivian Bearing, a tough, intellectual professor specializing in 17th century literature, takes on the challenge to undergo eight months of experimental chemotherapy and a combination of drugs to battle advanced metastatic ovarian cancer, in which she is in Stage 4, a cancer for which there is no Stage 5. She will also be studied by medical students, her illness being a significant contribution to knowledge. To be something studied, as opposed to a human being, yes, there's the rub, to quote the Bard. But she is a tough woman, never one to shirk a challenge.

For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

Most of the story has Bearing's soliloquys, spoken to the viewer from her hospital bed, bald-headed and wearing a hospital gown, describing what she's thinking and feeling, and she does so with wit. One learns of her fascination with words, her past history as a student and academic, how she has preferred research to humanity, and her tough style of teaching, which she got from her mentor, Professor E.M. Rumford. There's a fascinating discussion between Bearing and Rumford, where the original punctuation at the end of Donne's "Death Be Not Proud" included a comma in the line, "death, thou shalt die." In other words, a comma separates life from life everlasting. Yet when Rumford tells her to go hang out with her students instead of going to the library Bearing goes to the library. Later, when a young doctor, Jason, tells her how he's fascinated by cancer due to its smartness, calling it "immortality in culture," it's ironic that she wishes he would be more interested in humanity rather than research.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

As for flashbacks, there are times when we cut to a scene when she's a five year old reading a Beatrix Potter book, that she alternates between her five-year old self and as she is now, bald and in the hospital gown, symbolizing how fragile she seems despite bearing up.

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

She presents her illness in a paradox in the manner of Donne himself, when she says that with her immune system down, everything is a hazard, especially the health care professionals. She isn't in the isolation ward because she has a grapefruit-sized tumor, but because her treatment imperils her health. But she revels in the paradox, seeing it as an intellectual game. But when the cancer spreads elsewhere, she begins to get frightened, realizing her intellectual abilities isn't going to help her, but that she seeks simplicity and kindness, and that makes her regret she had been sympathetic to some of her own students. Fortunately, she finds that in Susie, the nurse, with whom she has a rapport with.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,

Juxtaposing this movie with my mother's recent battle with cancer did ring some emotional chords due to similarities. My mother wasn't as open as Dr. Bearing in her feelings when undergoing CT Scans, ultrasounds, colonoscopies, or the IPT chemotherapy. But she too looked for kindness and simplicity, and when a certain hospital worker wheeled her chair to a spot of sunshine on a cold day after a CT scan, my mother realized that maybe she was wrong in being too tough, and that she had hurt some people in her past.

And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;

This is by far Emma Thompson's best role ever, but Audra McDonald as Susie lends strong support as the very human and compassionate nurse, who sees Bearing as a human being, not a subject for study. Those who have just lost a dear one to cancer may find this painful going, others will find this a study of reflection one experiences when near the portals of mortality.

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Rating:
Summary: Undying Dignity.
Review: I just tried to write a review of this just re-watched film, from the Pulitzer Prize winning play, and I got all tangled up. So, I'm not going to go into "the story." Just watch this brilliant, moving film about the regimented, respected but feared English professor, whose world is taken from her, when she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Narrated throughout by her character, the brilliant Emma Thompson takes us through her progressive deterioration and loss of control amidst the sometimes indifference of the medical profession. Audra McDonald is wonderful also as the nurse, Susie, who, though a total professional, is not only the voice of compassion, but the keeper of Thompsons "Professor Barrie's" dignity, when she can no longer defend it for herself. She is a perfect contrast to the often all to real portrayal of the fresh-faced new doctor, played by Jonathan Woodward, who effectively conveys the preoccupation with stats, data, etc...in his eagerness to "analyze", forgetting there's a human being in that bed to which the stat chart is attached. The scene near the end, where Thompson/Barrie is visited by her grand-motherly former professor, who proceeds to cradle her in her hospital bed and tenderly read a childrens story to her, and bids her good bye, is one of the most moving scenes I've ever experienced. It is not an easy film to watch. Having just lost my life-long friend, who died at 47, in hospice, it was especially poignant. But, if you watch one film, watch "Wit." It is beyond being labeled as mere entertainment, and, though the subject matter is in itself depressing, the film is not. It is one of those increasingly very, very rare films that will greatly move you. And, though you pretty much know from the first words spoken in the film where it is headed, it is ultimatley life affirming, and very touching in its conveyance of the dignity of the human spirit. Easily one of the most intelligent, moving, beautiful movies I've ever seen. Watch it.

Rating:
Summary: Heart wrenching and beautiful
Review: As a widower, whos partner Carole, lost her battle with Germ Cell Ovarian Cancer, at 34, in 2000, this film is full of tears, memories and fears - did Carole suffer this much?

I would highly recommend this film to anyone, but caution those personally involved that a period of time may be needed after your loss, before watching.

Buy it now though, as it is no longer available at all in Europe, it was never put on DVD over here. The VHS is now only available from a few Marketplace sellers in USA, so buy it today.
Most UK VCR players now take the US format, though not the DVD.

I am buying copies, before the VHS goes completely, to pass to fiends and family.

I agree with others, it should be required viewing to anyone who works in cancer care.

Thank you for a beautiful film