Awakenings

Awakenings is a 1990 American biographical drama film written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max von Sydow. It is based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 nonfiction memoir Awakenings. The film tells the story of the fictional neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Williams), whose character is based on Sacks.

In 1969, Sayer discovers the beneficial effects of the drug L-DOPA and administers the drug to catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. The patients—among them the focal character Leonard Lowe (De Niro)—are awakened after decades and must therefore try to acclimate to life in a new and unfamiliar time.

The film is produced by Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, who first encountered Sacks's book as undergraduates at Yale University. Released on December 12, 1990, Awakenings was a critical and commercial success, earning $108.7 million on a $29 million budget. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (De Niro), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Plot

In 1969, Dr. Malcolm Sayer is a dedicated and caring physician at a local hospital in the New York City borough of the Bronx. After working extensively with the catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, Sayer discovers a stimuli that will "awaken" the patients from their respective catatonic states. Actions such as catching a ball, hearing familiar music, being called by their name, and enjoying human touch each have unique effects on particular patients and offer a glimpse into their worlds. Patient Leonard Lowe seems to remain unmoved, but Dr. Sayer learns that Leonard is able to communicate with him by using a Ouija board.

After attending a lecture at a conference on the drug L-DOPA and its success for patients with Parkinson's disease, Sayer believes that the drug may offer a breakthrough for his own group of patients. A trial run with Leonard yields astounding results; Leonard completely "awakens" from his catatonic state. This success inspires Sayer to ask for funding from donors, so that all the catatonic patients can receive the L-DOPA medication and gain "awakenings" to reality and the present.

Meanwhile, Leonard is adjusting to his new life and becomes romantically interested in Paula, the daughter of another hospital patient. Leonard begins to chafe at the restrictions placed on him as a patient of the hospital, desiring the freedom to come and go as he pleases. He stirs a revolt by arguing his case to Sayer and the hospital administration. As Leonard becomes more agitated, Sayer notices that a number of facial and body tics begin to manifest, which Leonard has difficulty controlling.

Although Dr. Sayer and the hospital staff are initially overjoyed by the success of L-DOPA in reviving a group of catatonic patients, they soon realize that the effects are only temporary. Leonard, the first to "awaken", is also the first to show signs of decline. His tics gradually worsen, his walk becomes a shuffle, and he begins to experience full-body spasms that severely limit his movement. Despite the pain, Leonard remains resolute. He asks Dr. Sayer to film him, hoping that his experience may one day contribute to research that helps others.

Aware of his deteriorating condition, Leonard shares a final lunch with Paula. He tells her that he can no longer see her, but before parting ways, she invites him to dance. While they dance, Leonard's spasms cease for a brief, calming moment.

Although Leonard and Sayer reconcile, Leonard soon returns to a catatonic state. One by one, the other patients follow, despite increasing doses of L-DOPA.

Dr. Sayer speaks to a group of hospital donors, explaining that while the physical awakenings were fleeting, a deeper awakening had occurred, with most a renewed sense of appreciation for life. Sayer also grows from the experience, finally overcoming his intense shyness to ask Nurse Eleanor Costello for coffee.

The staff now treats the patients with greater empathy and dignity, and Paula continues to visit Leonard. Although Leonard is again unresponsive, he and Sayer maintain their connection through the Ouija board, a quiet testament to the enduring human spirit.

Cast

• Robert De Niro as Leonard Lowe
• Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer
• Julie Kavner as Eleanor Costello
• John Heard as Dr. Kaufman
• Penelope Ann Miller as Paula
• Max von Sydow as Dr. Peter Ingham
• Vincent Pastore as Ward #5 Patient #6
• Ruth Nelson as Mrs. Lowe
• Alice Drummond as Lucy
• Judith Malina as Rose
• George Martin as Frank
• Anne Meara as Miriam
• Mary Alice as Nurse Margaret
• Richard Libertini as Sidney
• Keith Diamond as Anthony
• Peter Stormare as neurochemist
• Bradley Whitford as Dr. Tyler
• Dexter Gordon as Rolando

Production

Casting

On September 15, 1989, Liz Smith reported that those being considered for the role of Leonard Lowe's mother were Kaye Ballard, Shelley Winters and Anne Jackson.<ref>Smith, Liz (September 15, 1989). "Guess What She's Doing for Love". Daily News (New York). p. 8. Retrieved March 6, 2022.</ref> Three weeks later, Newsday named Nancy Marchand as the leading contender.<ref>Fleming, Michael; Freifeld, Karen; Stasi, Linda (October 4, 1989). "Inside New York: Big Wigs at Lunch". Newsday (New York). p. 12. Retrieved March 9, 2022.</ref>

In January 1990—more than three quarters of the way through the film's four-month shooting schedule<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Filming & Production; Filming Dates. IMDb.</ref>— the matter was seemingly resolved when the February 1990 issue of Premiere magazine published a widely cited story belatedly informing fans that not only had Winters gotten the role, she had been targeted at De Niro's request and had been cast by displaying her Oscar awards (for the benefit of veteran casting director, Bonnie Timmermann).Template:Efn

Template:Blockquote Despite Liz Smith's, Newsday's and Premiere's seemingly definitive reports (which, minus any mention of the specific film being discussed, would be periodically reiterated and ultimately embellished in subsequent years),<ref>Ebert, Roger (May 12, 1995). "'Sharks' Takes Sardonic Swipe at Hollywood". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 37. Retrieved—via RogerEbert.com. "When we first meet [Guy], he's having lunch with a table full of other ambitious young would-be executives, at Musso and Frank's. He's telling an anecdote about how Shelley Winters was asked to audition for a producer once, and simply pulled her Oscars out of her handbag and lined them up on his desk. It would be a great story, if the others had heard of Shelley Winters (one of them finally remembers her from 'The Poseidon Adventure'). Retrieved March 6, 2022. See also:

• "SHELLEY WINTERS ~ Interview Tom Snyder Show (1996) pt 1". YouTube.
• Bernard, Jami (September 17, 2000). "And the Return Envelope, Please... ". New York Daily News.
• "Movies: When Shelley Winters was asked to audition...". The Sun Herald Marquee. March 27, 2003. p.4.
• Danziger, Maya (February 2005). "The Twilight Zone: The Shelley Winters Moment". Los Angeles Magazine. p. 75.
• O'Malley, Sheila (January 16, 2006). "R.I.P., Shelley Winters". The Sheila Variations.
• "Shelley Winters; Comments [Comment #4]". DAMEonline.net. November 12, 2007.
• O'Malley, Sheila (December 1, 2008). "The Books: “Shelley, Also Known As Shirley” (Shelley Winters)". The Sheila Variations.
• Brown, David (March 6, 2014). "Albert Pujols channels Joe Pesci character after being insulted by Mike Trout comparison". Yahoo!Entertainment.</ref><ref>Cronin, Brian (July 6, 2022). "Is the Famous Shelley Winters Oscar Story Really True?". CBR. Retrieved February 6, 2023.</ref> the film was released in December 1990, featuring neither Winters (whose early dismissal evidently resulted from continuing attempts to pull rank on director Penny Marshall)<ref>Agan, Patrick (1993). Robert De Niro: The Man, the Myth and the Movies. London: Robert Hale. pp. 187–188. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref>Baxter, John (2003). De Niro: An Autobiography. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 289. Template:ISBN.</ref> nor any of the other previously publicized candidates (nor at least two others, Jo Van Fleet and Teresa Wright, identified in subsequent accounts),<ref name="HH">Haun, Harry (2000). The Cinematic Century: An Intimate Diary of America's Affair with the Movies. New York: Applause. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name=TWreRN>Spoto, Donald (2016). A Girl's Got to Breathe: The Life of Teresa Wright. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Template:ISBN.</ref> but rather the 85-year-old Group Theater alumnus Ruth Nelson, giving a well-received performance in what would be her final feature film.<ref>Template:Cite news See also:
• Template:Cite news.
• Carroll, Kathleen (December 20, 1990). "De Niro Rises and Shines in 'Awakenings'; Robin Williams and Ruth Nelson also touch the heart in this Tale of medical miracles". New York Daily News. p. 31, 39. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
• Template:Cite news.
• Agan. op. cit., p. 188.</ref><ref name="HH"/> "As Leonard's mother," wrote The Wall Street Journal critic, Julie Salamon, "Nelson achieves a wrenching beauty that stands out even among these exceptional actors doing exceptional things."<ref>Template:Cite news.</ref> In her 2012 memoir, Penny Marshall recalled:

Filming

Principal photography for Awakenings began on October 16, 1989, at the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn, New York, which was operating, and lasted until February 16, 1990. According to Williams, actual patients were used in the filming of the movie.<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In addition to Kingsboro, sequences were filmed at the New York Botanical Garden, Julia Richman High School, the Casa Galicia, and Park Slope, Brooklyn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Awakenings was released theatrically on December 12, 1990, with an opening weekend gross of $417,076,<ref name="BOM">Template:Cite web</ref> opening in second place behind Home Alone's ninth weekend, with $8,306,532.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It went on to gross $52.1 million in the United States and Canada,<ref name="BOM" /> and $56.6 million internationally,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> for a worldwide total of $108.7 million.

Critical response

Awakenings received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 81% of 37 film critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.6/10. Its consensus states: "Elevated by some of Robin Williams'[s] finest non-comedic work and a strong performance from Robert De Niro, Awakenings skirts the edges of melodrama, then soars above it."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from reviews of mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of A on a scale of A+ to F.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a rating of four stars out of four, writing: Template:Blockquote

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised the film's performances, citing, Template:Blockquote

Oliver Sacks, the author of the memoir on which the film is based, "was pleased with a great deal of [the film]", explaining, Template:Blockquote

Desson Howe of The Washington Post said that the film's tragic aspects did not live up to the strength in its humor, saying,

Similarly, Janet Maslin of The New York Times concluded her review by stating, Template:Blockquote

Accolades

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including: the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Academy Award for Best Actor (Robert De Niro). Robin Williams was also nominated at the 48th Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.

List of awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipients	Result
Academy Awards	March 25, 1991	Best Picture	Walter F. Parkes, Lawrence Lasker	Template:Nom
		Best Actor	Robert De Niro	Template:Nom
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Steven Zaillian	Template:Nom
Awards of the Japanese Academy	March 20, 1992	Best Foreign Film	Awakenings	Template:Nom
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	1991	Best Actor	Robert De Niro	Template:Nom
Golden Globe Awards	January 19, 1991	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Robin Williams	Template:Nom
Grammy Awards	February 25, 1992	Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television	Randy Newman	Template:Nom
National Board of Review Awards	March 4, 1991	Best Actor	Robert De Niro, Robin Williams (Tie)	Template:Won
		Top Ten Films	Awakenings	Template:Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	January 13, 1991	Best Actor	Robert De Niro	Template:Won
Writers Guild of America Award	March 20, 1991	Best Adapted Screenplay	Steven Zaillian	Template:Nom

External links

• Template:IMDb title
• Template:TCMDb title
• Template:Mojo title
• Template:Rotten Tomatoes