Latest news with #Awakenings
Tom's Guide
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
I just rediscovered this powerful film with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams — stream it before it leaves Netflix
Some movies leave a lasting impression on you thanks to one memorable scene. In 'Awakenings,' the 1990 Robin Williams-Robert De Niro acting tour de force, that scene is when Williams, playing the Bronx neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer, throws tennis balls to wheelchair-bound patients of a hospital housing victims of the encephalitis epidemic. Mute and barely able to move, these patients instinctively react to catch the balls, inspiring Dr. Sayer to believe these patients had sparks of life inside their incapacitated bodies. Now that I've seen 'Awakenings' for the third time, it's the kind of film that stays with you beyond just a critical scene I remembered from my first viewing. It's a poignant, powerful and endearing film you can't help but adore. But you have to act fast to catch it before it leaves Netflix's streaming library on July 1. Directed by Penny Marshal (best known for 'Big' and 'A League of Their Own'), the film riffs off the real-life work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, a trailblazing doctor who wrote the book 'Awakenings' about his clinical research into helping encephalitis sufferers who were frozen in various stances, their nurses seeing them more as plants to water and feed than humans, as one stand-out quote tells us. Dr. Sayer seeks to crack the block of ice caging these patients, and later discovers the drug L-DOPA to administer to these patients and help them find their true self, as if they were waking up from a decades-long dream. The patients' story is focused on Leonard (De Niro), and his frozen position gradually eases into an active and charming man who recognizes the beauty of living life, even flirting with a female staffer for the first time. It's hard to forget the heart-breaking scene where he is so desperate to go for a walk on his own, he tries to leave the hospital and is restrained by security guards, his tears coursing down onto the floor. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. De Niro's acting is entrancing to watch, such as how his eyes 'speak' to Sayer during his mute state, and the passion brimming in him once the new drug gives him a voice to express his deep frustration with not being allowed to roam free on his own. I will unequivocally state that De Niro got robbed of an Academy Award in 1992 after Jeremy Irons won for "Reversal of Fortune." Williams sheds his manic vaudevillian personality for a toned-down performance unlike anything he had taken on then. Fresh off his charged role in 'Dead Poets Society,' Williams invokes a curious intelligence that he must've seen in Dr. Sacks when he shadowed him prior to playing a version of him for 'Awakenings.' He wants to do good so badly, he's open to trying anything, even opting for an experimental drug known to elevate the mind and body movement of Parkinson's sufferers. As much as his patients 'wake up' thanks to the drugs, so too does Dr. Sayer when he shifts his research focus from insects to people after he takes on the job at the hospital, and Williams doesn't overplay his hand here. He lets the character gradually see the humanity in patients who have been left to wither and die. A single guy who prefers playing piano solo to getting a coffee with colleagues, Sayer also reflects on what he finds personally fulfilling beyond the satisfaction of drug experiments gone right. In 'Awakenings,' we are treated to a Williams performance that surpasses the 'serious' roles we have seen other comedians take when they're done with slapstick and goofy faces. When we think about Williams and his suicide in 2014, a wave of sadness may wash over us as we wonder what could've been. But we should be overjoyed to still have available to us the work of an actor who gave us so many hilarious and inspiring films, and whose own research into playing Dr. Sayer offers a peek into his unique approach to entertaining us. When he was speaking to people with Tourette's to prep for his role as Sayer, who also worked with patients with various neurological disorders, Williams said in the documentary "Come Inside My Mind": 'Here's a disease that basically makes you do, physically, things you have no control over. Along with it comes this incredible mental exhilaration that you think faster than most people.' Faster than most people could describe the exhilarating stage performances we saw in Williams during his stand-up shows, or in interviews with Letterman or Leno. But when he slows down in a role like Dr. Sayer in 'Awakenings,' we glimpse a side of the legendary actor we don't often see, and we treasure how he was able to give us a nuanced portrayal of a doctor who wanted to turn up the dial on the life still lit within the chests of patients who had been cast away by society.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Deliciously at odds': Zachary Quinto on embodying the brilliant yet flawed Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds'
Although there's no shortage of medical dramas on the air, Brilliant Minds sets itself apart by taking its inspiration from Oliver Sacks, the famed neurologist whose groundbreaking work was previously dramatized in the film Awakenings. Zachary Quinto jumped at the opportunity to play a version of Sacks, who is "an endlessly fascinating and influential presence in both the world of medicine and literature." That, combined with the creative team behind the show, created "an alchemy to the whole package that felt undeniable to me." Quinto plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, a socially awkward yet exceptional neurologist who utilizes unconventional techniques to treat his patients. Although Robin Williams got the opportunity to work closely with Sacks during the production of Awakenings, Quinto was unable to do the same, since Sacks died in 2015. Yet as Quinto tells Gold Derby, "there's a really unique aspect of this experience," which is that while this is inspired by a real person, "we're also creating a character who is fictional, and exists in a different time and in a different environment than the one in which the real life Oliver Sacks lived and worked. So it was kind of the best of both worlds for me as an actor, because I certainly was able to dive into copious amounts of his writing," as well as "endless interviews with him," while still making it his own. More from GoldDerby Ryan Gosling's 'Star Wars: Starfighter': Everything to know as Mia Goth takes on the Mikey Madison role Olivia Williams was more than happy to be 'the wise old bird' on the 'Dune: Prophecy' set 'Forever' star Lovie Simone on traveling back to a 'nostalgic' time for Netflix's teenage romance show Dr. Oliver Wolf is, as Quinto describes him, "an often misunderstood but incredibly well-meaning person. I don't think he always has the capacity to articulate or communicate as smoothly as maybe he would like to. There's something really special about embodying that. I really found that endearing and appealing about the character. At his core, he is an incredibly brilliant, dedicated, empathetic, and driven doctor, and his main thrust and motivation is really caring for his patients as fully and as generously as he can. There was something about the blending of those two qualities that was deliciously at odds. Those aren't two qualities that necessarily go hand-in-hand, and I love that about him. He's clumsy sometimes. He doesn't suffer fools. He's not interested in listening to differing perspectives. He believes what he believes," which is "every patient he treats deserves respect and dignity, and to be seen." Brendan Meadows/NBC Part of Quinto's job is making sense of the medical lingo his character rattles off as if it's second nature. Unlike other medical dramas, "You're not dramatizing gunshot wounds or heart attacks. It's all neurological cases, so it really is about delving into the mind." So, the question is, "How do I make this dialogue accessible and interesting, and humanize it and invite audiences into it?" It helps that the scripts by creator Michael Grassi and his team feature the input of on-staff medical consultants. "We all have to portray characters for whom this language is everyday jargon, and it's something that we have to be able to pass off as believable, even if the audience isn't meant to know exactly what it means because we're in the process of explaining it to them. We have to come from a place where the characters know exactly what these words mean, and that is always an interesting challenge, but it's a challenge that I really relish." Added into that are the various medical ailments that Dr. Wolf and his team of interns have to deal with week-to-week. "I can't tell you how many times I thought, 'Well, this can't be real,'" says Quinto of the scripts he received. "But then we get directed to the chapter of An Anthropologist on Mars or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," both books written by Sacks which served as inspiration for the series, "where he chronicled the real life parallel case." All of the cases and conditions dramatized in the show were taken from real life, some of which were treated by Dr. Sacks, and some of which "are adjacent to, or inspired by, those cases. I often felt really challenged in the many, many ways in which our brains and our minds can go astray, and the impacts of that which these patients experience." Among the most surprising patient arcs portrayed in the first season is that of a comatose John Doe who is given the ability to communicate thanks to a revolutionary brain computer. In the show's seventh episode, "The Man From Grozny," we learn that he came to American from Chechnya to flee oppression for being gay, and having told his story, he makes a surprising request for the remainder of his care. "To me, that storyline and the way that it resolved, which was not at all how I expected it to resolve when it was introduced to me as a multi-episode arc, was, I think, the most impactful personally for me," Quinto reveals, as well as "the most impactful in a lot of ways for the audience as the season unfolded." Quinto earned an Emmy nomination in 2013 for American Horror Story: Asylum, and since then has worked mostly in film and theater with occasional stints on television. As Brilliant Minds heads into its second season, he's found a renewed appreciation for "that kind of serialized storytelling that I've been away from for a long time, and I'm actually really grateful to be back to" for the first time since Heroes. "To now be involved in an ongoing series playing the same character who's going through a number of different circumstances and situations is something that I really welcome, and it's been really fulfilling for me creatively." SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'Say Nothing' star Anthony Boyle on playing IRA activist Brendan Hughes: We 'get to the humanity as opposed to the mythology' The Making of 'The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day': PBS variety special 'comes from the heart' From 'Hot Rod' to 'Eastbound' to 'Gemstones,' Danny McBride breaks down his most righteous roles: 'It's been an absolute blast' Click here to read the full article.
Metropolis Japan
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metropolis Japan
COLOURS presents KASIA
Melodic techno queen KASIA is set to make her long-awaited Japan debut. Known for captivating crowds at Afterlife, Tomorrowland, ULTRA Miami, and Awakenings, the acclaimed DJ and producer finally lands in Tokyo. Her sound blends emotional depth, cinematic builds, and a strong visual aesthetic, creating unforgettable dance floor experiences worldwide. She will bring her unique energy to Japan's largest venue, ZEROTOKYO. Rooted in melodic techno, KASIA's performances are celebrated for their beauty, drama, and immersive power. Don't miss this rare chance to witness one of the most influential artists in the global techno scene live in Tokyo. ZEROTOKYO 1-29-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku ￥3,300 - 4,000
