Mike Nichols' Film, Wit

560 Words2 Pages

Mike Nichols' Film, Wit

In the film Wit, directed by Mike Nichols, Emma Thompson (Vivian Bearing) is portrayed as a woman professor who had dedicated her life to teaching and studying John Donne and his sonnets. She was about 48 years old and was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer.

This film showed us some of the hard decisions that Vivian had to make such as when she agrees to the radical and painful chemotherapy. The film showed us the changes she went through like in her body and mind (hair, weakness, weight, color etc.).

Wit was a difficult and heartbreaking film to watch. By the end of the fist scene I knew where the film was headed just by technique and tone. How many films have you seen with a woman diagnosed with cancer, have a happy ending?

Most of the action takes place in Vivian’s bed. There are a lot of close-ups on Vivian. The camera was all in her face even while throwing up. This film reminds me of one of my favorite movies Ferris Beuler’s Day Off. How, at times it was as if he was speaking right to the camera and the viewers.

In the film V...

Open Document