This essentially-solo film features Emma Thompson as Vivien, a scholar of John Donne sonnets. Her intellect drives her away from contact with humanity, though the sonnets explore the meaning of life and death. Oh, and she is battling stage 4 ovarian cancer (`there is no stage 5'). Wit lives up to its title, with occasionally very funny musings and exclamations by the protagonist.
The cast is minimal, with only four other minor characters, including a very sympathetic performance by Audra McDonald as the primary nurse. Thompson is, as usual, excellent and convincing. The flashbacks of her professorial life fill out her character just enough to contrast with her present ill state. The rest of the cast are essentially stock characters bordering on stereotypes.
The soundtrack is minimal and amounts to background music in an elevator going to the basement. Cinematography is excellent and intimate, with no outside scenes; the views of the hospital are amazingly antiseptic.
Don't see this movie for the wit, though there are some laughs. See it for the excellent portrayal of a cancer victim who has an existential battle forced upon her.
The cast is minimal, with only four other minor characters, including a very sympathetic performance by Audra McDonald as the primary nurse. Thompson is, as usual, excellent and convincing. The flashbacks of her professorial life fill out her character just enough to contrast with her present ill state. The rest of the cast are essentially stock characters bordering on stereotypes.
The soundtrack is minimal and amounts to background music in an elevator going to the basement. Cinematography is excellent and intimate, with no outside scenes; the views of the hospital are amazingly antiseptic.
Don't see this movie for the wit, though there are some laughs. See it for the excellent portrayal of a cancer victim who has an existential battle forced upon her.