Wit (2001)

Deservedly hailed as one of the best films of 2001, Wit makes it clear why top-ranking talents seek refuge in the quality programming of HBO. Unhindered by box-office pressures, director Mike Nichols and Emma Thompson turn the most unglamorous topic--the physical and psychological ravages of cancer--into an exquisite contemplation of life, learning, and tenacious, richly expressed humanity. In adapting Margaret Edson's compassionate, Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Nichols and Thompson open up the one-room setting with a superb supporting cast. But their focus remains on the hospital experience of Vivian (Thompson), a fiercely demanding professor of English literature whose academic specialty--the metaphysical poetry of John Donne--is the armor she wears against the cruel indignities of her cancer treatment. While losing all that she held dear, she reassesses her life as an aloof intellectual, and Wit illuminates her bracingly eloquent and deeply moving struggle for dignity, meaning, and peace at life's ultimate crossroads. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

There are no words, but having said that

There are no words that can express my feelings about this film, but having said that, this is one of the - maybe THE most moving films I have ever seen and definitely one of the most magnificent performances I have ever seen, Emma Thompson's. The spareness, the pace - both of which some other reviewers have commented on - seem to reflect, paradoxically, the experience of what is being faced - and as the character, Professor Bearing, comes to say: simplicity. Yet the story and the experience are anything but 'simplicity'. Profound, deeply thought provoking, comforting, rich, eloquent - and yet there are no words, as she also says at one point, even though words have meant so much to her. The comma in John Donne's poem - I think the lines that reflect on that are some of the most - affecting I've ever heard. One of the most moving scenes ever viewed in a film is the one where Professor Bearing's nurse played so wonderfully by Audra MacDonald rubs lotion on Professor Bearing's hands; so moving I wasn't sure I could bear it. This film is just extraordinary in every way and I wish I knew that Ms.Thompson, Mr. Nichols, Ms. McDonald, Ms. Edson, et al. could know how much it meant to my husband and me to watch it. John Donne, whose poetry was a subject in another of my favorite films - 84 Charing Cross Road - was done proud. I am grateful for the existence of this film. November 9, 2008

Great Movie

I have loved this play for years and I wanted to compare it to the film for a project for my literature class. I was very impressed with it. It stays true to the text almost completely and the performances were excellent. I'd recommend it for fans of the play and everyone else. November 1, 2008

Brilliant performance

A student of mine bugged me for an entire school year to get this and watch it. I did--and felt I'd been gut punched by the end. Thompson is brilliant, believable, amazing and inspiring in this role. Bravo, Emma. Thanks for being willing to take on this project. The film is exemplary. October 18, 2008

Couldn't get past the subject

The early scenes in the doctor's office are just too uncomfortable for anyone with a fear of disease. I skipped the rest. September 28, 2008

More Wit than Want

I love Emma Thompson - Kenneth Branaugh is a lucky man... She is an incredible actress! And Mike Nichols is a fine director.

That said, this movie simply lacked something. There were poignant moments and rich depth of emotion and acting. And, yes, Emma Thompson was superb at moments throughout the movie. But I find myself in the unenviable position of criticizing someone's account of devastating disease. Yet if I'm going to be honest, criticize I must.

I think what the movie lacked was pace (OK, let's leave any jokes about slow as death behind us right here!). It was slow - too slow - to the point where I found myself uncertain whether I identified with Thompson's character's pain or simply the movie's painfully slow march toward debilitation and death. And there you find yourself caught between wishing things would move faster and realizing that faster meant the demise of the character depicted before you.

I know it's difficult to convert a stage play to the big screen (probably why they released this as an HBO flick - to avoid the big screen) and the result often falls into one of three categories - slow, slower, or slowest... Mike, you didn't break free from this difficulty.

There, I've done it. Call me a heartless cad. Tell me my taste wouldn't fill a thimble. I wanted to like this movie - I really did. Sorry, Emma, I tried - mostly for you! But at the end of the day, this just didn't cut it for me.
September 18, 2008

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