Roger Ebert, bless his immortal and great talented soul, wrote that Awakenings was "no tear-jerker." For once Roger was wrong, if we must take him literally, for I and most of our readers by their admissions, teared up all over the place, and I'm a hard-bitten retired trial lawyer. I didn't have the pleasure of watching this great film in a theater, because Nadja and I were enjoying ourselves sailing Baja California and the Mexican Pacific Gold Coast, but I watched it on two DVD rentals this year, and wept appropriately both times.
I must say, however, that I was turned off by the ridiculous scene where Robert DeNiro whips his fellow suffers into a frenzy. This instantly reminded me of the scene in the 1977 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau where the animals, surgically and at great pain transformed into human beings, in their misery proclaimed "We are men. We are men." This scene, in my humble opinion, was entirely unnecessary because the actors, by their body language both before and after, quite adequately made the point. I suspect that some Hollywood executive who fancied himself more knowledgeable than the script writers insisted on this scene to give it more action. Whatever, it sure cured my teary mood.
I also wish the DVD had come equipped with subscripts for people with hearing problems, which means probably 60% of viewers over 60. But the acting was so good, I believe I understood what was going on.
As noted my brief comment in the Summary section, this story's beginning and ending with the ward's patients being in and reverting to catatonic trances intrigued me. This device was used in the unexpurgated edition of the satirical psychiatric novel "Paper Doll, The Times and Tribulations of George Selkirk, M.D."
I must say, however, that I was turned off by the ridiculous scene where Robert DeNiro whips his fellow suffers into a frenzy. This instantly reminded me of the scene in the 1977 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau where the animals, surgically and at great pain transformed into human beings, in their misery proclaimed "We are men. We are men." This scene, in my humble opinion, was entirely unnecessary because the actors, by their body language both before and after, quite adequately made the point. I suspect that some Hollywood executive who fancied himself more knowledgeable than the script writers insisted on this scene to give it more action. Whatever, it sure cured my teary mood.
I also wish the DVD had come equipped with subscripts for people with hearing problems, which means probably 60% of viewers over 60. But the acting was so good, I believe I understood what was going on.
As noted my brief comment in the Summary section, this story's beginning and ending with the ward's patients being in and reverting to catatonic trances intrigued me. This device was used in the unexpurgated edition of the satirical psychiatric novel "Paper Doll, The Times and Tribulations of George Selkirk, M.D."