Wit (film)
Encyclopedia
Wit is a 2001
American
television movie
directed by Mike Nichols
. The teleplay by Nichols and Emma Thompson
is based on the 1998 Pulitzer Prize
winning play of the same title
by Margaret Edson
.
The film was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival
on February 9, 2001 before being broadcast by HBO on March 24. It was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Warsaw Film Festival later in the year.
known for her intense knowledge of metaphysical poetry, especially the Holy Sonnets
of John Donne
. Her life takes a turn when she is diagnosed with metastatic Stage IV ovarian cancer
. Oncologist
Harvey Kelekian prescribes various chemotherapy
treatments to treat her disease, and as she suffers through the various side-effects (such as fever, chills, vomiting, and abdominal pain), she attempts to put everything in perspective. The story periodically flashes back
to previous moments in her life, including her childhood, her graduate school
studies, and her career prior to her diagnosis. During the course of the film, she continually breaks the fourth wall
by looking into the camera and expressing her feelings.
As she grows increasingly ill, Vivian agrees to undergo more tests and experimental treatments, even though she realizes the doctors treating her, including former student Jason Posner, see her less as someone to save and more as a guinea pig
for their treatments. The only person who seems to care for her as a person is Susie Monahan, one of the nurses on the staff.
Late in Vivian's illness, the only visitor she receives in the hospital is her former graduate school professor and mentor, Evelyn Ashford, who reads her excerpts from Margaret Wise Brown
's The Runaway Bunny
. As she nears the end of her life, Vivian regrets her insensitivity and realizes she should have been kinder to more people. In her time of greatest need, she learns that human compassion is of more profound importance than intellectual wit
.
Vivian dies at the end of the film, with her voiceover reciting "death be not proud".
and Judith Light
, who had performed the role on stage.
The film was shot at the Pinewood Studios
in London
.
The soundtrack includes a number of classical
pieces, including "Serenade Adagio" from String Quartet #15 by Dmitri Shostakovich
, "Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt
, "2nd Movement" from Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) by Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and "The Unanswered Question" by Charles Ives
.
Eddie Cockrell of Variety
called the film "shrewd and triumphant" and "focused, emotionally draining and ultimately inspiring" and added, "The risks in filming such a theatrical experience are enormous, yet the original material has been carefully and smartly reworked for the screen by Thompson and Nichols . . . Subtle yet crucial shifts from theatrical to film conventions abound, reaffirming Thompson's skill as both writer and actress . . . as well as Nichols' proven track record with theatrical properties."
Caryn James of The New York Times
observed, "Emma Thompson gives one of her most brilliant performances as Vivian Bearing...Mr. Nichols and Ms. Thompson, who wrote the script together, have made minimal changes to the play, but those amount to a major transformation. They have preserved Ms. Edson's language and intense focus on Vivian's hospital room as she endures eight months of brutal experimental chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. But Mr. Nichols's visual choices turn this into a fluent, gripping television film...The hospital staff around her is played beautifully by actors who escape the hazards of clichés. As Jason, a young doctor proud of the A minus he once got in Vivian's poetry course, Jonathan M. Woodward makes his character's callowness and insensitivity believable. As Susie, the nurse whose total compassion makes her Jason's opposite, Audra McDonald is especially impressive because the character could so easily have been treated with condescension...E. M. Ashford is played with unerring delicacy by Eileen Atkins in a performance that matches Ms. Thompson's brilliance.... [L]et's not pretend that Wit is fun or necessarily soothing; frankly, it is depressing. But if you miss this version, you will also miss a rare experience."
In his July 3, 2008 blog
, Roger Ebert
recalled naming Wit one of the year's best on his Best Films of 2001 program with Richard Roeper
, even though it never opened theatrically. He described it as "both intelligent and heartbreaking" and called Emma Thompson's performance "her best work on film." He said when he tried to watch the DVD in later years, he discovered "I actually could not watch the movie. I remembered it too clearly, perhaps, and dreaded re-living it. When I reviewed it, its situation was theoretical for me, and I responded to the honesty and emotion of the drama. Since then, I have had cancer, and had all too many hours, days and weeks of hospital routine robbing me of my dignity. Although people in my situation are always praised for their courage, actually courage has nothing to do with it. There is no choice."
Critics from The A.V. Club
, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times
, San Francisco Chronicle
and The Wall Street Journal
, among others, also highly praised the film and its performances. Nichols' direction was lauded in many reviews as well.
format on DVD on September 11, 2001.
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
. The teleplay by Nichols and Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
is based on the 1998 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
winning play of the same title
Wit (play)
Wit is a play written by American playwright Margaret Edson. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the inspiration for her play. Wit received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, in 1995...
by Margaret Edson
Margaret Edson
Margaret Edson is an American playwright. She graduated with a B.A. in Renaissance History from Smith College, and received a master's in English literature from Georgetown University...
.
The film was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
on February 9, 2001 before being broadcast by HBO on March 24. It was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Warsaw Film Festival later in the year.
Plot
Vivian Bearing is a professor of English literatureEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
known for her intense knowledge of metaphysical poetry, especially the Holy Sonnets
Holy Sonnets
The Holy Sonnets, also known as the Divine Meditations or Divine Sonnets, are a series of nineteen poems by the English poet John Donne...
of John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
. Her life takes a turn when she is diagnosed with metastatic Stage IV ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
. Oncologist
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
Harvey Kelekian prescribes various chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
treatments to treat her disease, and as she suffers through the various side-effects (such as fever, chills, vomiting, and abdominal pain), she attempts to put everything in perspective. The story periodically flashes back
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to previous moments in her life, including her childhood, her graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
studies, and her career prior to her diagnosis. During the course of the film, she continually breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
by looking into the camera and expressing her feelings.
As she grows increasingly ill, Vivian agrees to undergo more tests and experimental treatments, even though she realizes the doctors treating her, including former student Jason Posner, see her less as someone to save and more as a guinea pig
Guinea pig
The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
for their treatments. The only person who seems to care for her as a person is Susie Monahan, one of the nurses on the staff.
Late in Vivian's illness, the only visitor she receives in the hospital is her former graduate school professor and mentor, Evelyn Ashford, who reads her excerpts from Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
's The Runaway Bunny
The Runaway Bunny
The Runaway Bunny is a 1942 picture book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. The plot deals with a small rabbit, who wants to run away...
. As she nears the end of her life, Vivian regrets her insensitivity and realizes she should have been kinder to more people. In her time of greatest need, she learns that human compassion is of more profound importance than intellectual wit
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
.
Vivian dies at the end of the film, with her voiceover reciting "death be not proud".
Production
In preparation for the role of Vivian Bearing, Emma Thompson shaved her head, following in the footsteps of actresses such as Kathleen ChalfantKathleen Chalfant
-Life and career:Chalfant was born as in San Francisco, California and raised in her parents' boarding house in Oakland. Her father, William Bishop, was an officer in the Coast Guard...
and Judith Light
Judith Light
Judith Ellen Light is an American actress. Her television roles include Karen Wolek on the soap opera One Life to Live, Angela Bower on the sitcom Who's the Boss?, Claire Meade on ABC's TV series Ugly Betty and Judge Elizabeth "Liz" Donnelly on Law & Order Special Victims Unit.-Early life:Light...
, who had performed the role on stage.
The film was shot at the Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The soundtrack includes a number of classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
pieces, including "Serenade Adagio" from String Quartet #15 by Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, "Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, "2nd Movement" from Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) by Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and "The Unanswered Question" by Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
.
Cast
- Emma ThompsonEmma ThompsonEmma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
— Vivian Bearing, PhD - Christopher LloydChristopher LloydChristopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
— Dr. Harvey Kelekian - Eileen AtkinsEileen AtkinsDame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
— Evelyn Ashford, PhD - Audra McDonaldAudra McDonaldAudra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...
— Susie Monahan - Jonathan M. WoodwardJonathan M. WoodwardJonathan Mark Woodward is an American actor. He was born on November 20, 1973 in Moscow, Idaho, the younger of two sons of an architect and his wife, a literacy specialist...
— Dr. Jason Posner - Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
— Mr. Bearing
Critical reception
The film was met with great acclaim, though it had a few detractors.Eddie Cockrell of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "shrewd and triumphant" and "focused, emotionally draining and ultimately inspiring" and added, "The risks in filming such a theatrical experience are enormous, yet the original material has been carefully and smartly reworked for the screen by Thompson and Nichols . . . Subtle yet crucial shifts from theatrical to film conventions abound, reaffirming Thompson's skill as both writer and actress . . . as well as Nichols' proven track record with theatrical properties."
Caryn James of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
observed, "Emma Thompson gives one of her most brilliant performances as Vivian Bearing...Mr. Nichols and Ms. Thompson, who wrote the script together, have made minimal changes to the play, but those amount to a major transformation. They have preserved Ms. Edson's language and intense focus on Vivian's hospital room as she endures eight months of brutal experimental chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. But Mr. Nichols's visual choices turn this into a fluent, gripping television film...The hospital staff around her is played beautifully by actors who escape the hazards of clichés. As Jason, a young doctor proud of the A minus he once got in Vivian's poetry course, Jonathan M. Woodward makes his character's callowness and insensitivity believable. As Susie, the nurse whose total compassion makes her Jason's opposite, Audra McDonald is especially impressive because the character could so easily have been treated with condescension...E. M. Ashford is played with unerring delicacy by Eileen Atkins in a performance that matches Ms. Thompson's brilliance.... [L]et's not pretend that Wit is fun or necessarily soothing; frankly, it is depressing. But if you miss this version, you will also miss a rare experience."
In his July 3, 2008 blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
recalled naming Wit one of the year's best on his Best Films of 2001 program with Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
, even though it never opened theatrically. He described it as "both intelligent and heartbreaking" and called Emma Thompson's performance "her best work on film." He said when he tried to watch the DVD in later years, he discovered "I actually could not watch the movie. I remembered it too clearly, perhaps, and dreaded re-living it. When I reviewed it, its situation was theoretical for me, and I responded to the honesty and emotion of the drama. Since then, I have had cancer, and had all too many hours, days and weeks of hospital routine robbing me of my dignity. Although people in my situation are always praised for their courage, actually courage has nothing to do with it. There is no choice."
Critics from The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, among others, also highly praised the film and its performances. Nichols' direction was lauded in many reviews as well.
Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award for Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television (nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Emma Thompson, nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television MovieThis is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie, which is awarded since 1992. The category was originally called Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special.-1980s:*1980: The Miracle Worker...
(winner) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a SpecialPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic SpecialThis is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special.- Chronology of categories :...
(Mike Nichols, winner) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries (John Bloom, winner)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.From 1973 to 1978, the category was divided into two separate categories .Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, guest performances in regular television series were...
(Emma Thompson, nominee) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Audra McDonald, nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Emma Thompson and Mike Nichols, nominees)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting - Miniseries, Movie, or a Special (Ellen Lewis, Juliet Taylor, and Leo Davis, nominees)
- Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie (Emma Thompson, nominee)
- 2001 Humanitas PrizeHumanitas PrizeThe Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
(winner) - 2001 Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
(winner) - Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
Special Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Mike Nichols, winner) - Berlin International Film Festival Golden BearGolden BearAccording to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
for Best Motion Picture (nominee)
DVD release
HBO Home Video released the film in fullscreenPan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
format on DVD on September 11, 2001.