Wit (film)

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Wit
Directed by Mike Nichols
Produced by Simon Bosanquet
Written by Margaret Edson (play)
Emma Thompson
Mike Nichols
Music by Henryk Górecki
Dmitri Shostakovich
Arvo Part
Distributed by HBO Films
Release date(s) 2001
Running time 98 min.
Country UK / U.S.
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Wit is a 2001 HBO television movie based on the 1998 play Wit by Margaret Edson. Directed by Mike Nichols, and with the screenplay adaptation by Nichols and Emma Thompson,[1] the movie features Thompson in the lead role of Vivian Bearing. In preparation for the role, Thompson shaved her head, in keeping with other actresses such as Kathleen Chalfant and Judith Light who have performed the role on stage.[2]

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Vivian Bearing is a professor of English literature, whose classes are known for their brevity and her intense knowledge of metaphysical poetry, especially the Holy Sonnets of John Donne. Her life takes a turn when she is diagnosed with metastatic Stage IV ovarian cancer. Her oncologist, Dr Harvey Kelekian, prescribes various chemotherapy treatments to treat her disease. As she suffers through the various side-effects (such as fever, chills, vomiting, and abdominal pain), she attempts to put everything in perspective. The story periodically flashes back to previous moments in her life, including her childhood, her graduate school studies, and her career before her diagnosis. During the course of the film, Vivian constantly looks into the camera to narrate her feelings, breaking the fourth wall.

As she grows increasingly ill, she agrees to undergo more tests and experimental treatments, even though she learns that the doctors treating her, including a former student in her class, Jason Posner, see her less as someone to save and more as a guinea pig for their treatments. The only person who seems to have any care for Vivian is Susie Monahan, one of the nurses. Late in Vivian's sickness, the only visitor she receives in the hospital is her graduate school professor, Dr EM Ashford. Towards the end of her life, Vivian realizes that kindness is something she should have exhibited to more people. In her time of greatest need, she learns that human compassion was of more profound importance than intellectual wit.

[edit] Awards

Wit was nominated two Golden Globe awards in 2002, and won three Emmy Awards in 2001 (Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special).

[edit] Cast

[edit] References

  1. ^ Caryn James. "Death, Mighty Thou Art; So Too, a Compassionate Heart", The New York Times, 23 March 2001. Retrieved on 2008-04-05. 
  2. ^ Sarah Lyall. "For Wit, a Star Who Supplies A Wit of Her Own", The New York Times, 18 March 2001. Retrieved on 2008-04-05. 

[edit] External links