Williams gives his best "straight" performance, shorn of all his marvelous manic vaudeville. The man he plays here is not a performer, which he was even in Dead Poets Society, but simply a man.
Awakenings
There is no such thing as a simple miracle.
1990 · 2h · PG-13
Drama
Directed by
Penny Marshall
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
Awakenings
Overview
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
More films
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Drama · R
A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.
- Runtime
- 2h 15m
- Director
- Miloš Forman
- Cast
- Jack Nicholson, Brad Dourif, Louise Fletcher
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Drama · History · PG-13
Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French fashion bible Elle magazine, has a devastating stroke at age 43. The damage to his brain stem results in locked-in syndrome, with which he is almost completely paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking an eye. Bauby painstakingly dictates his memoir via the only means of expressi...
- Runtime
- 1h 52m
- Director
- Julian Schnabel
- Cast
- Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Drama · R
Will Hunting is a headstrong, working-class genius who is failing the lessons of life. After one too many run-ins with the law, Will's last chance is a psychology professor, who might be the only man who can reach him.
- Runtime
- 2h 7m
- Director
- Gus Van Sant
- Cast
- Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck
Patch Adams (1998)
Comedy · Drama · PG-13
The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
- Runtime
- 1h 55m
- Director
- Tom Shadyac
- Cast
- Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Daniel London
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Drama · PG
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
- Runtime
- 2h 9m
- Director
- Peter Weir
- Cast
- Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
Snow (1963)
Documentary · N/A
Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are ...
- Runtime
- 8m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
Rail (1967)
Documentary · N/A
"Rail" captures British Railways at a major turning-point in its history. In certain respects, this was a period of considerable upheaval and loss. There was a facing-up to the increasing need for a big modernisation drive. Full and speedy electrification, or the wider promotion of diesel-power on remaining lines, became a matter of to...
- Runtime
- 14m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones











Comments
Talk about the film with other members