Wit (2001) on Netflix
Vivian Bearing teaches English poetry and learns she has Stage IV ovarian cancer. Harvey Kelekian proposes experimental chemotherapy, and Jason Posner, once her student, is on her medical team.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.9/1010,973 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
Vivian Bearing is a professor of 17th century English poetry who specializes in the Holy Sonnets of John Donne. She is diagnosed with advanced metastatic Stage IV ovarian cancer. Harvey Kelekian, the oncologist, prescribes an experimental course of aggressive chemotherapy. Jason Posner, a fellow on her medical team, was once her student. She agrees to the treatment and decides to go through it alone. Susie Monahan, a nurse, treats her as a person.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Wit (2001)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- In his July 3, 2008 blog, Roger Ebert recalled naming Wit one of the year's best on his Best Films of 2001 programme even though it never opened theatrically; he said that when he tried to watch the DVD in later years, "I actually could not watch the movie. I remembered it too clearly, perhaps, and dreaded re-living it."
- In preparation for the role of Vivian Bearing, Emma Thompson shaved her head, following in the footsteps of actresses such as Kathleen Chalfant and Judith Light, who had performed the role on stage.
- The teleplay by Nichols and Emma Thompson is based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Margaret Edson.
