Awakenings (1990)

Awakenings (1990) is a quietly powerful, true‑story drama set in a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a socially awkward clinical physician with a research background, discovers that a group of long‑term patients—left catatonic after an encephalitis epidemic decades earlier—may respond to an experimental drug. When one patient, Leonard Lowe, briefly “awakens,” the film follows the medical, ethical and deeply human consequences as doctors, patients and families confront what it means to come back to life after decades of stasis. Watching Awakenings you’ll experience a slow‑burn mixture of scientific curiosity and intimate emotion: clinical scenes and hospital routines are balanced with warm, often heartbreaking personal moments. The movie is driven by compassionate performances (notably the leads), a contemplative pace, and a tone that shifts from hopeful wonder to sober reflection as unexpected complications arise. It raises questions about the limits of medicine, the dignity of patients, and the importance of human connection, rather than delivering easy answers. Expect to come away moved and thoughtful—uplifted by glimpses of regained joy and terrified by the fragile nature of that recovery. The film lingers on small gestures and relationships, leaving viewers with empathy for both the awakened patients and the caregivers who struggle to reconcile science with humanity.

Actors: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner

Director: Penny Marshall

Runtime: 121 min

Genres: Biography, Drama

7.3 /10 74 /100 7.8 /10 7.5 /10