Awakenings Movie Analysis Essay Example

The movie Awakenings starring Robin Williams, Robert de Niro, and so many more was based on the 1973 book Awakenings by Oliver Sacks. Oliver Sacks was a British neurologist who after completing his fellowship at a college in New York City began to work at a chronic-care facility. There, he took care of many patients who suffered from a condition that left them not able to move on their own for many years. The condition was known as encephalitis lethargica or “sleeping sickness”. Oliver Sacks tried his absolute best to treat and help his patients with this terrible disease and later documented his work into a nonfiction book. The book became popular and was turned into a drama film in 1990. The film consists of Dr. Malcolm Sayer, played by Robin Williams, caring for a group of patients at a chronic-care hospital in a small city of New York with encephalitis lethargica. Dr. Sayer becomes intrigued and compassionate towards the patients and pitches a trial run with Leonard Lowe, played by Robert de Niro, of the L-Dopa drug to hopefully help. L-Dopa was unfortunately a temporary fix for the condition and allowed the patient to have brief moments of “awakenings” that allowed them to live their lives as normal as they could again. 

During the entire two hours of the film, I was on the edge of my seat. It was not at all what I expected based on the small synopsis that I read before pressing play. However, it quickly became one of the top best movies I have ever seen. My favorite part of the film has to be all the times throughout the movie that Dr. Malcolm Sayer did not give up on his patients. At the beginning of the movie, a nurse brings a patient named Lucy Fisherman who suffered from encephalitis lethargica to Dr. Sayer to be examined. At the time Dr. Sayer believed that Lucy was unresponsive and had dementia. Nevertheless, he did not give up on Lucy and began studying her further and realized that she was responsive but in a way that was perceived as odd. For example, he threw a tennis ball towards Ms. Fisherman’s right side and she caught it. When presenting this information to his colleagues, they overlooked the action. As the movie continues Dr. Sayer continues to work with Lucy and the other patients like her, including Leonard Lowe, in a comatose state. He quickly realized that these patients were responsive towards things like physical touch, hearing their name be called, listening to their favorite type of music and more. His dedication towards his patients and job really stuck out to me and made me realize how important it is to never give up on people.

There are many ethical issues presented in the movie Awakenings. The first ethical issue identified is when the doctor gets consent before any medical actions takes place by either the patient or the patient’s family member. One of the basis principles of medical ethics is beneficence. Beneficence ultimately means to do no harm and provide the best care. During the movie, Dr. Sayer displayed good ethical care by asking Leonard Lowe’s mother, Mrs. Lowe, if it was okay to have her son participate in a trial run of the drug L-Dopa for his condition. He presented her with paperwork and gave her the option to sign it or to not sign it. The action of getting consent is extremely important in the medical field. If this action is not done, terrible consequences could be brought up including being charged with a crime. Another ethical issue displayed in the film is non-discrimination towards others. Throughout the entire movie, Dr. Sayer treats each of his patients the same way. He does not discriminate based on their age, gender, socioeconomic background, or illness. He treats each one with respect and compassion, which is an action all healthcare providers should take part in. 

Although the patients with encephalitis lethargica or “sleeping sickness” were not fully healed with the medication used, each one got to experience an awakening. The medication used was called L-Dopa. L-Dopa, also known as levodopa, is a drug used to treat Parkinson’s patients. It is used to treat the motor symptoms including tremors and muscle stiffness linked to Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Sayer attends a conference about the drug during the movie and strongly believes it will help his patients. Thus, he works with the pharmacist at the hospital to measure out a dose of L-Dopa to give to Leonard Lowe as a test run. It takes several tries to get the perfect amount of the medication to awake Mr. Lowe but ultimately 1000mg works. It only lasts a short amount of time but Leonard gets to experience life again during the time frame.

One important insight that I gained from the movie Awakenings that I will use in my future nursing career is that hearing is the last sense that most people lose. There is a saying that we learn when we are little that says if we do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all. This is especially true in the medical field because majority of the patients can hear everything that is said even if they are unresponsive. Just like in the movie, the patient’s with encephalitis lethargica hear every word that is being said to them or about them but can not answer back due to their comatose state. Another insight I acquired and will use later in life is that every individual deserves a second chance no matter their position in life. If Dr. Sayer would have just accepted that the patients in the film were in a catatonic state with no way out, then none of them would have been introduced to their life again. Healthcare providers should do everything in their power to provide their patients with the opportunity to have a second chance at life while under their care.