WIT (TV)
Summary
In this made-for-television film based on the play by Margaret Edson, acclaimed literary scholar Vivian Bearing undergoes an experimental chemotherapy treatment for advanced-stage ovarian cancer. As the treatment proceeds, Vivian describes her experience, interjecting memories of her past and reflections on her life -- in a direct address to the viewer. As the story moves forward, striking similarities are drawn between Vivian's work as an academic and her predicament as a cancer patient. She recalls being rebuked by a professor at college as well as her early understanding of the writer whose work she specialized in -- seventeenth-century metaphysical poet John Donne. It becomes clear early on that Vivian's doctors, Dr. Posner and Dr. Kelekian, have little interest in their patient as anything but a research project. The stalwart Vivian bears her therapy like a champion, describing how she has learned to suffer. Alone in her room, she ponders the new reality of her life: "You cannot imagine, how time can be so still. It hangs, it weighs, and yet there is so little of it." As her chemotherapy treatments continue, Vivian relates her condition to elements of her career and contemplates the acclaim her doctors will likely achieve as a result of her illness. Only Nurse Monahan offers Vivian any warmth or kindness, tenderly informing the dying woman that the chemotherapy isn't killing her cancer. As Vivian's suffering gets progressively worse, Posner and Kelekian remain indifferent to her pain. Dr. Posner opens up to Nurse Monahan about his experience as Vivian's former student, reflecting on the difficulty of her field of study and her toughness as a professor. In the final stages of her treatment, an old teacher visits Vivian and reads a children's story to the nearly infantilized woman. When Vivian's heart gives out, Nurse Monahan forces Dr. Posner to respect her "Do Not Resuscitate" request.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: March 24, 2001 Saturday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:39:01
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:64568
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Cancer - Drama; Metaphysical poets - John Donne
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Mike Nichols … Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- Cary Brokaw … Executive Producer
- Simon Bosanquet … Producer
- Julie Lynn … Co-Producer
- Charles F. Ryan … Co-Producer
- Mike Haley … Co-Producer
- Paul A. Levin … Associate Producer
- Emma Thompson … Writer
- Margaret Edson … Based on the play by
- Emma Thompson … Cast, Vivian Bearing
- Christopher Lloyd … Cast, Dr. Kelekian
- Eileen Atkins … Cast, E.M. Ashford
- Audra McDonald … Cast, Susie Monahan
- Jonathan M. Woodward … Cast, Jason Posner
- Harold Pinter … Cast, Vivian's Father
- Rebecca Laurie … Cast, Vivian aged 5
- Su-Lin Looj … Cast, Nurse
- Raffaello Degruttola … Cast, Technician 1
- Miquel Brown … Cast, Technician 2
- Harry Dillion … Cast, Fellow 1
- Benedict Wong … Cast, Fellow 2
- Alex Gregor … Cast, Fellow 3
- Lachele Carl … Cast, Fellow 4
- David Menkin … Cast, Student 1
- Rachel Siegel … Cast, Student 2
- Shauna Shim … Cast, Student 3
- Matt Blair … Cast, Student 4
- David Zayas … Cast, Code Team Blue Head
- Tassia Messimeris … Cast, Code Team Blue 2
- Norman Naudain … Cast, Code Team Blue 3
- Emma Bernbach … Cast, Code Team Blue 4
- Jenny Jules … Cast, Code Team Blue 5
- Gary Beadle … Cast, Code Team Blue 6
- John Donne