Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I am a survivor and when this movie came out I actually though for once a movie that told an accurate view of life thru this horrible time. Boy was I wrong, what a load of crap! I am very surprised that more survivors have to posted the truth! The way her bs came out throughout this whole movie like it was poetry was a load, her overall lack of any knowledge about what people go through while this messes up their entire life was a very poor choice for her. I would have thought that she would have at least studied some patients and took note on what they went thru. Instead Mrs Thompson decided to spew crap and make it seem like deep poetic thoughts. What's load of rubbish this movie was and is, do NOTwaste your money even renting this pure fiction! I wish the academy would have given awards for the worst movies of all time so this could have won in a landslide! What a shame!!!! As a survivor to Mrs Thompson, you should be ashamed!!!!

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play "Wit" (aka "W,t"), it was adapted and rewritten for HBO film by Mike Nichols and Emma Thompson.Prof. Vivian Bearing (Thompson) specializes in John Donne's 17th century metaphysical poetry. (Donne wrote the famous "No man is an island unto himself, Everyman is a part of the continent, a piece of the main..." which I've long loved and understand; but Donne's "Holy Sonnets" are unfamiliar and considerably beyond me;--no matter, this film remains great!.) She's a renowned scholar and popular teacher but yet quite demanding (& without compassion for her students). After Prof. Bearing is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, she agrees to participate in a research trial of a medicinal course. During the movie, she frequently breaks the "fourth wall," often speaking directly to the camera (we, the audience) as she wrestles with the meaning of her life (& death) and her growing awareness of her mortality and the importance of compassion in life. A compelling movie to watch, it's sad (tissues mandatory) but also very uplifting at the end. The background music is excellent and appropriate in both mood and title (it includes Arvo Part's "Spiegle im Spiegle" ("Mirror in Mirror") & Charles Ives "Unanswered Question.") IMDb says this movie is now shown in many medical schools teaching future MDs the importance of compassion. Roger Ebert said Thompson's performance was her best on film. My rating of this Emma Thompson performance: >15+/10.

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.

Wit (2001) (TV), directed by Mike Nichols, is a film that depends for its power on the acting ability of its star. Fortunately, this movie stars Emma Thompson, who is always outstanding and is superb in this role. None of us know how we will respond when we are near death. However, few of us are in the situation in which Thompson's character finds herself. With her caustic wit and scholarly aloofness, Professor Vivian Bearing has cut herself off from friends, students, and colleagues. When she learns she has terminal cancer, she finds herself alone in the world.This moving film benefits from the strong performance of Ms. Thompson, as well as an excellent portrayal by Audra McDonald of a nurse who recognizes that medical personnel can't always cure, but they can always comfort.This is a grim movie, with somewhat hackneyed dialog spoken by the other supporting characters. However, the plot is so riveting, and the acting by Thompson and McDonald is so good, that this is definitely a film worth seeking out.