Awakeninga true story
In 1990, after the great success of his second feature film Greatactress-turned-director Penny Marshall brings together Robert De Niro and Robin Williams to carry the drama Awakening. For the screenplay, Steven Zaillian adapts the memoirs of Oliver Sacks. He was a doctor and neurologist who worked in the 1960s on remedies for catatonia patients who survived an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s.
Awakening it is therefore a story directly inspired by this true story. It is set in 1969 with Robin Williams as Doctor Malcolm Sayer and Robert De Niro as Leonard Lowe, a patient of the a vegetative state for decades.
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Two top actors
Penny Marshall’s film shines neither for its cinematography nor for its direction, which couldn’t be more conventional. But it stands out for the formidable performance of its two main actors. At the time Robert De Niro was already an established actor. Winner of two Oscars for The Godfather 2 AND wild bullis at the top with The Freedmen by Martin Scorsese, released a few months earlier Awakening. Robin Williams has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor, in 1988 for Good morning, Vietnam AND The Society of Dead Poets in 1990.
Robert De Niro stands out in particular AwakeningIn a role in contrast to those that made him famous. Dr. Sayer’s treatment “awakens” him, and must therefore convey the innocence and apparent simplicity of a man who has not moved or truly communicated for 30 years, as well as his unprecedented joy in living almost normally. Then he returns the pain and the terrible side effects caused by this experimental treatment… With Robin Williams, he forms a touching couple, where a deep friendship is created between a patient and an ultra-invested and caring caregiver.
For their respective performances in AwakeningRobert De Niro gets his Fourth Oscar nomination for best actor in 1991, and Robin Williams knows Sixth Golden Globe nomination for best actor.
When Robin Williams made Robert De Niro laugh
Not exactly known for his smiles, Robert De Niro then walks away Awakening his mask of hardness and darkness to make his character’s eyes smile and shine. But he also makes it behind the scenes of the film, where Robin Williams makes him laugh out loud, as you can see in the video below.
Robin was very funny on set. He too is focused, he is very serious in what he does, but at the same time he is constantly joking between one shot and another, and making a film means waiting a lot (between one shot and another, ed.)! And it’s something, it’s really amazing and a lot of fun.
And if further proof of Robin Williams’ genius was needed, being able to make Robert De Niro laugh is a feat of genius!
Source: Cine Serie
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