The Awakenings Movie is a touching film with a thought-provoking plot and characterization. The film tries to show how a doctor will do anything to help catatonic people. Awakenings helps us understand why we must be willing to challenge conventional wisdom to help those in need. This film, based on a true story, is a thought-provoking story about a doctor willing to push boundaries and is best examined through the plot, characterization, and some of the drawbacks of the film Awakenings. The film begins in 1920 with a young Leonard Lowe showing outward signs of a yet unknown disease. The film then cuts to 1969, where Dr. Malcolm Sayer works in a Chronic Hospital in New York City. During his stay in the hospital, he begins to have a theory that people with post-encephalitis syndrome can be cured, so he begins his own experiments to prove his theory. After his tests, he believes a drug called L-DOPA will help his patients. The doctor administers L-DOPA to his patients, which makes them wake up, but eventually the effect of the medicine wears off and the patients return to their previous state. The plot has very high points of emotional distress, but there are also moments of lighthearted fun to relieve the pressure of the conflict. In the first scene of the film the audience is returned to 1920s New York, with Leonard and his friends, but Leonard suffers from the disease encephalitis and the resulting consequences of his illness. The film then switches to Dr. Sayer who is hired for the convenience of the hospital. We then cut to a non-specific time period as Dr. Sayer is in the hospital, but making progress with his patients. Secondly, there is an underlying romance with Dr. Sayer... at the center of the paper... the character is relatable to the audience for those who have relatives who suffer from mental issues. The film has moments that will break your heart, inspire people to do more with themselves, but with some small discrepancies in the plot that could have been resolved with a few more minutes of the film instead of letting us dry. However, Ebert raises a question: “How much of the self we so treasure is simply a matter of good luck, of being spared in a minefield of neurological possibility?” (Ebert). The film raises questions about what we do to those who need our love and support. The best part of the film is how they wake up and experience a slice of life before the medicine wears off and they return to their catatonic state. The film is worth the time and money, it is family friendly and a surefire classic that will inspire your family for many years.