The Awakenings Movie Analysis

Name: Jhila Patricia T. Adrias Course and Section: SLP 1-1 Name of the Professor: Ma’am Peggy Orbe

Movie Critique of “Awakenings”
The Writers: Oliver Sacks (book) and Steven Zaillian (screenplay)
The Director: Penny Marshall
The Year the movie was shown: 1990 The “Awakenings” is an American drama film that is amazingly based on a true story by Oliver Sacks, a British-born New York Neurologist. It was emotional, moving, tear-jerking and stunningly beautiful. This film is about Dr. Oliver Sacks (Robin Williams) who, in 1969, invented an experimental drug called L-Dopa, how it awakened many patients from catatonic states successfully which had lasted as long as 30 years and how the patients react in both before and after medications.

Malcolm Sayer worked in Bronx Hospital and discovered beneficial effects of L-Dopa, a drug that was used to treat Parkinson’s disease. He speculated that the catatonic patients’, who survived the 1917–1928 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, rigidity might be similar to Parkinsonism, so he asked permission from his skeptical superiors to try and treat them with the drug. Leonard Lowe is the first patient that Dr. Sayer tested with the drug. He raised the dose to a higher level because there were no improvements. Then in the middle of the night, Leonard miraculously woke up and Dr. Sayer was astonished. Now, Dr. Sayer gave all the patients in the hospital with the same drug and they all awakened. Unfortunately, the treatment caused negative side effects and Leonard went back to his previous state so does the other patients that were treated with the drug. The film ended with Dr. Sayer giving a speech about the lessons he had learned from his patients and about how it was the best summer for

Sayers’ discovered drug worked to his patients. It was heart-warming seeing the patients awaken and be cured—when they were brought back to life. It was a miracle. They became normal again, they were so happy and they really enjoyed their life to the fullest. Even Leonard fell in love with a girl! Unfortunately, life came back again. It was heart-breaking, they experienced bad side effects and resumed to their previous state. Life really is unfair.
This movie teaches me to appreciate life a little more—to appreciate the simple things in life that we take for granted. This is a movie of hope and belief that will lift your spirits up no matter what you have experienced in life. Life is full of challenges and it is hard, but we all should be thankful for every breathing moment—we should be thankful because we are still living, all we need is to have courage and be brave to conquer all of those challenges. We have so much to be thankful for and I think that the others will also learn what I have learned in this