The film Wit by Mike Nichols is a touching story about the fate of Professor of English literature Vivien Behring. Finding herself in a difficult life situation, Vivien shows extraordinary grit and fortitude. She must make a tough decision, and the question of “to be or not to be” becomes a question of her life.
There are two famous and undoubtedly talented actors on the screen. On the contrary, Christopher Lloyd is in the role of an imposing doctor — Emma Thompson in the image of his 48-year-old patient. The dialogue between the characters resembles hundreds of others because we have already seen and heard all this somewhere. A terrible diagnosis: ovarian cancer with metastases. The doctor’s confidential voice: experimental eight-stage treatment using a new technique. A sad thesis stuck between the lines: the absence of any guarantees and, by and large, an understandable, disappointing ending.
“Epilogue” by Mike Nichols, released by HBO Films, is a reinterpretation of the life path of professor of English literature Vivien Behring, a very prim and not rich in emotions researcher of sophisticated sonnets by John Donne— a contemporary of William Shakespeare. This modest and chamber film shot equally cinematically and theatrically, is filled with metaphor, poetry, and spiritual charm of the beginning of the “noughties,” not yet defiled by technological progress.
This film struck me because the main character shares all their thoughts and experiences during the illness with the viewer. These events allow us to imagine how a seriously ill person with cancer feels. Moreover, it demonstrates the idea of the inhumane attitude of doctors toward patients with serious illnesses. Nevertheless, the heroine finds solace and support from a young, ambitious doctor and a kind-hearted nurse who is the only companion on the way to the inevitable.