Lorenzo's Oil (1993)

With this powerful 1992 drama, director-producer George Miller (The Road Warrior) proved that a movie about a disease doesn't have to be a typical disease-of-the-week movie. Based on the real-life case of the Odones family, the story concerns 5-year-old Lorenzo, suffering mightily from an apparently incurable and degenerative brain illness called A.L.D. His parents, an economist (Nick Nolte) and a linguist (Susan Sarandon), refuse to accept the received wisdom that there is no hope, and set about learning biochemistry to pursue a cure on their own. The film becomes an intriguing scientific mystery mixed with a story of pain, grief, and the strain on the two adults. In other words, Lorenzo's Oil is similar to all those medical-mayhem TV flicks but with some key differences: a pair of great actors in Sarandon and Nolte--who actually do some of the finest work of their careers here--and Miller's bold and typically inventive direction. Miller, a doctor himself, refuses to shirk from the chaos and horrors of a child's agony, and he makes us hear the death chains rattling behind images that would be purely sentimental in another director's hands. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

Lorenzo's Oil

Lorenzo's Oil is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is based on a true story. Be ready for the emotional aspects of it. It is filled with tremendous actors but it is a sad story even though the theme is to find a cure for an illness. I won't give away the story but you will want to see this movie for sure. October 11, 2008

Lorenzo Odone, who doctors had predicted would die in childhood, died one day after his 30th birthday

May 31, 2008. From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The man whose parents' battle to save him from a nerve disease was depicted in the movie "Lorenzo's Oil" died Friday at his home in Virginia, having lived more than 20 years longer than doctors had predicted.
June 1, 2008

One of my favorite movies of all time.

As a scientific researcher myself, this is a very motivational movie. It goes to show that medical science is not just about understanding immunology or breakdown of muscle fibers, but also about will and determination. Recommended to everyone. May 4, 2008

Lorenzo's Oil

This is an excellent movie. I had to view the movie for a science class I was taking and it was very good. I probably would never have watched the movie if it wasn't part of an assignment...I'm glad I did! August 16, 2007

Just a moving story

I just love this movie, it is so moving the dedication of the two parents and the horrible fight the little boy had to go through. The soundtrack is haunting as well. Great performances by all actors. May 7, 2007

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