Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Ploydsge just watch it!

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

bandw (Spoilers) In the first scene Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson) is told she has stage IV ovarian cancer. From that point the film traces her experience to the end, in intimate detail. If you are a cancer survivor, or have been through this experience with a loved one, then I would think that this will be too painful to watch. For others this is probably going to be as close to the experience as you will get until it comes to your life.Vivian is a professor specializing in the poetry of John Donne; appropriately Donne's "Death be not proud" poem figures in the movie. One of the things I got from seeing this is how thinking about death, reading great poetry on the subject, listening to philosophers philosophize doesn't really help a whole lot when faced with the ultimate truth. In the final moments Vivian is a scared, lonely person who simply seeks some human kindness. She does not get this kindness from her doctors--no, they are more interested in her as the object of an experiment to see how well she can withstand intense chemotherapy, so that they can write an article about it Vivian speculates. Vivian does get some understanding and kindness from her nurse Susie (Audra McDonald in a fine performance).Vivian is a brilliant, tough woman who most eloquently articulates her experiences, with some wit. The presentation has innovative touches, like placing the ailing Bearing in her classroom teaching in her hospital gown. Some of the most effective scenes have Vivian talking directly to the camera. One scene I found particularly revealing was when Vivian talked about how slowly time moved and said directly to us, "If this were reality, I would just lie here in silence for fifteen minutes while you sat there looking at me." A particularly moving scene had Vivian's adviser, professor Ashford, visit her on her deathbed. When Ashford said to Vivian, "It's a windy day," I was struck by the total gap between those who are still living their daily lives and those who are dying.By her own admission Vivian is a person who wants to know things, so one thing that puzzled me was why she did not ask more questions at the time of her initial diagnosis. Questions like: "What are my options?", "What are the odds in each case?", "What if I do nothing?", "Can you recommend someone to give me a second opinion?" Given the odds, it looks to me like she would have been much better off to have done nothing but wait until the pain was so bad that she could go on morphine. As it was, her treatment made her life a living hell for the time she had left.Thompson gives a spectacularly good performance. I have to believe that this was not an easy role and it took no small amount of courage for her to commit to it.

frjacksjmd A friend gave me a copy of the play's script. I was stunned. A day or two later I rented and then quickly purchased the DVD. I am a physician with boards in internal medicine and psychiatry who has spent 35 years caring for the elderly and dying in hospital and hospice settings. This movie crystallizes those years of experience. Six years ago I invited the ten medical students in my history taking group to view the film together in a setting away from the school. I have since repeated this twice yearly with each of the small groups under my charge. I made one big mistake the first year. After the movie ended I turned on the lights while the credits were running, oblivious to the sniffing and outright weeping on the part of the freshman medical students. Since then I've permitted the credits to run completely before turning on the lights. There is generally a delay of up to five minutes before any of them are able to say anything. The student response has been uniform. Gratitude for having seen the film, awe of the realities of the profession they have chosen to enter and appreciation for the chance to come to a deeper understanding of their own selves and motivations for entering medical school. Eileen Atkins is absolutely superb as Evelyn Ashford, PhD. Her scenes are brief but they bring the deeply religious underpinnings of the film to the fore. Her first scene, in which she recites the final stanza of Donne's Holy Sonnett X, (a scene which gave the movie its title) contrasts with the tender love in Vivian's hospital room. Her reciting of the poetry is astonishing. It was not until the sixth or so viewing (I've lost count) that I realized her parting words, "May the angels lead you to Paradise. . . " were the English translation of In Paradisum from the Roman Catholic funeral liturgy. That was one time when my tears joined the students. Anyone working in medicine; students, residents, nurses and nursing students, aides and so on, should watch this movie. I generally used the class the day following the viewing for a discussion of the movie, the bedside manner of the docs, nurses, techs and so on as well as what feelings the movie stirred in them. The conversations have been memorable. This is a movie that is not to be missed. It is tragic that it was made for television by HBO rather than given general theatrical release. Many fewer people have seen it is a result.

copperncherrio This is a HBO film starring Emma Thompson. Sad, sad movie about a philosophy professor dying of cancer, AND THE WHOLE TIME SHE'S ALONE. ALONE and dying. And she goes through the most painful clinical trail EVER. Also her doctor is a former student, who's a complete Douche.Oh cancer, this is just sad. It's just so cold and hateful and this film reflects just that. It is very isolated and thought provoking. Emma Thompson is a philosophy professor, one of the best in her field. She does have great monologues however, that are artful and thought provoking...I hate doctors and research after this movie.

manuelcuribe Emma, you took me to places I didn't know existed; and dearly hope I never actually encounter. You've raised my empathy levels by exponential factors. I'm doing something about it. I visit the terminal. I show them your movie. What has happened is not to be trivialized by laying it down in this forum. I'll try to get your agent to forward some letters for me. They're in Spanish, I'll translate them for you.I am now forced to fill up space to satisfy Amazon's length requirements. What could I possibly say that others haven't? The bravest performance ever by a beautiful woman? Not only looks, but soul!!! OK< here's one: Would you kindly share in this forum what drove you to take that on? To take it as far as you did?Thanks Emma! Manuel in Mexico City a.k.a. Stochastic