had a great Idea and had aptitude to be a great movie but disaster screenplay and directing waste it! The characters were not well-developed at all. it made Inner desire to know the character's past but didn't give us any information. Their illness cured very fast and they got healthy and adapt themselves with conditions even faster! it took a few days for Leonard to be healthy(which is shorter than usual also) but for other patients, just a few hours! worse that script? it's directing. I had seen movie "big" by Penny Marshal before and I liked it so much but in this case, she sucked. the film is quite scattered and full of confusion. instead of concentrating on one or two topic, it wants to include several big topic which it isn't easily achievable. I think Marshall should focus on that part of the screenplay that was stronger and leave the weak part. I didn't like De Niro's. in fact he played healthy Leonard part well, but the ill Leonard, Disaster! although Williams was fairly good. Perhaps the script did not allow them to show more than that and director did not provide the base for them. I'm sure you know that a few years later, in the movie "Good Will Hunting" by Gus Van Sant, Robin Williams played a similar character and played it Fantastic.Now, you know what's funny? The film has three Oscars nominations for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for De Niro!!

Greetings from Lithuania."Awakenings" (1990) is very moving, very involving and superbly crafted picture. Loosely based on a real story, it tells a powerful one, very simple yet very moving story - miracle if you ask me.Performances are first rate here from the great Robert De Niro and very good one from Robin Williams. Directing is superb - at running time ~2 hours this movie never drags and is highly involving from start till finish. Script by the great Steven Zaillian is also superb, not overwritten, not to much sentimental. Overall, "Awakenings" is a movie which after seeing it once you will probably won't ever forget it. This is a drama without any action, but it is done so good that its hard to stop watching it and admire. Great movie all around.

A very very slow movie based on a true story, which is remembered particularly for the outstanding performance of Robert de Niro. How on earth did he not win the 1990/91 Oscar hands down after his portrayal of Leonard Lowe? Every time I watch this movie I have tears in my eyes from the scene where he tells the girl he loves he can't see her again, and watches her leaving from the window until the end. Robin Williams is...well, you know what you're gonna get from Robin Williams - for me the best actor of all time (DeNiro is second, in my opinion the two best actors star in 'Awakenings'.) Robin Williams plays a brilliant, yet incredibly shy and nervous doctor who joins a Psychiatric Hospital in New York where many of the patients are in a coma and dead to the World. Thanks to Dr. Sayer brilliance, a number of the patients including DeNiro 'awaken' from their state - some after decades - for a brief period in the summer of '69. There's a sad scene at the end where Dr. Sachs tells his nurse how Leonard had told him what a kind man he was...only for him to effectively give someone their life back, then take it away again and not be able to do anything about it. That's a sad scene played brilliantly by Robin Williams. Incidentally, the leading female is Julie Kavner who plays Nurse Eleanor Costello - she is world famous for the voice of Marge in The Simpsons!

Awakenings is what I would call an underrated film despite a big-name duo and a slew of Oscar nominations. This drama is a little-seen movie about people who are given a second chance to see the world. I like how the film does not sugarcoat the story. Sure, there are intense moments of happiness, but that doesn't last and wasn't meant to be. The film is well-written, well-acted, and one of the most underrated film of the past 2 decades. Penny Marshall's film is about a new doctor who is given a ward full of catatonic patients. He is not happy what he sees and is given permission to administer a chemical drug. When the first patient, Leonard, awakens for the first time as an adult, Dr. Sayer realizes there could be hope for these patients. I thought the film was well-acted. Robert De Niro does a great job as Leonard as he represents a catatonic patient quite well both physically and mentally. Also doing a great job was Robin Williams. I think this could have been the first true film proving that Robin was just not a comedian. Overall, Awakenings is a great character study and it's a better film than I have anticipated. Another film that people should definitely try and see. The film will warm your heart, but it is also a kind of film that will make you sad as well. But this is certainly a good film to watch and I highly recommend it.My Grade: A-