Awakenings (1990) is one of the rare movies that you remember long after watching it. The movie touches on the aspect of life where we find ourselves stuck and cannot find answers. The movie starts with Dr Malcolm Sayer, played by Robin Williams, who is looking for a job and lands himself in a psychiatric hospital in the Bronx. The hospital needed a doctor who could attend to catatonic patients who suffered from the ‘encephalitis lethargica’ epidemic of 1919-1930.
Condition of Patients
When Robin Williams’s character Dr, Malcolm Sayer, arrives in the hospital, we see many patients suffering the post-effects of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic. We see that they are unable to move their limbs and probably cannot respond to others at all. Almost all the patients have been in a catatonic state for two or three decades, and they are unable to speak, walk, feel or do pretty much any activity that normal humans can do. Despite having them for years, we see that no doctor has tried to find any cure and accepted their condition.
Dr Malcolm Sayer’s Character
Dr. Malcolm Sayer is a soft-hearted person who treats people more like humans than patient. He does not want to leave the patient suffering from their catatonic state, and instead, he tries to find different solutions for them. He tries little behavioural experiments on the patients and finds out how they respond. He realizes that the brains of the patients are not dead, and they can respond to certain actions like catching a ball or other items. After getting a positive response from patients, he tries to bring all the patients to normal conditions.
Robin Williams meets Robert De Niro
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, played by Robin Williams, meets Robert De Niro’s Leonard Lowe, who is also suffering from the post-effects of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic. First, Sayer comes to know about the condition of Leonard and learns that his body has been unresponsive towards any movements and thinking for decades due to encephalitis lethargica. In the movie, we see that traditional methods do not help the patient, and so it did not help Leonard Lowe. Dr. Malcolm Sayer also learns more about the condition from Leonard’s mother.
Robert De Niro’s Oscar-Winning Performance
Robert De Niro has delivered many great performances; however, when he plays the character of Leonard Lowe, he becomes a different person. The performance by Robert De Niro as a catatonic patient suffering from encephalitis lethargica is not something we will forget easily. With his acting, you will begin forgetting that it is a movie but think it is a real story you are watching. The movie shows that Robert De Niro can also play physically demanding roles. It is not surprising that the Academy nominated him for an Oscar for playing the character.
Dr. Malcolm Sayer Saving Leonard Lowe
Dr. Malcom Sayer learns about a new drug called “L-Dopa” that promises to cure the patients. Despite having limited resources, he fights to get this drug to cure all the patients. The L-Dopa drug proves to be a successful drug at bringing the patients back from the catatonic state to a normal state within some hours. Leonard Lowe becomes the prime subject of the drug and gets a speedy recovery. He can walk, talk and do things like normal human beings. The miraculous recovery allows Leonard to experience the world like never before. Robert De Niro plays Leonard with sheer dedication and gives an Oscar-worthy performance. The character reminds us of Raymond Babbitt from The Rain Man (1988) movie.
Conclusion
Not all movies go in the direction we expect, and this movie takes the characters differently. The movie feels straightforward when you look at the story, but it takes twists and turns, so it becomes more of a naturally progressing movie that is not predictable. The end of the movie is heart-warming and will leave you thinking about many things or people in your life. Based on a true story, it is a movie about life and how it can be unpredictable. When we are in good health, things seem pretty good, but while we struggle, we are helpless. The movie leaves you feeling soft at heart and more responsible about the life you live.
