Movie: Wit

There is a verse in a song written by Bill Danoff that reads, “Dream of a time when the tides ebbing now rise again. / Then you will know that to die is not really to end. / Living and dieing are both your most intimate friends.” In the movie Wit, the central character is faced with a life threatening illness and is forced to not only think about her own death, but also to reassess her life. Based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Margaret Edson, Wit is the 2001 Emmy winning HBO movie directed by Mike Nichols and starring Emma Thompson.

Emma Thompson is outstanding in her portrayal of English Professor Vivian Bearing, a renowned scholar of metaphysical poet John Donne. The rigid and demanding teacher is suddenly faced with stage four ovarian cancer. Realizing that there is no stage five, she enters an aggressive experimental chemotherapy program at a research hospital where she learns, “Once I did the teaching, now I am taught.” There are only a handful of characters in the movie, but they are all wonderful in bringing different aspects of human character into contact with Bearing. Bearing now draws parallels between her life and Donne’s complex and often difficult poetry.

The perspective Mike Nichols used to film the movie was described by Margaret Edson as a way to capture the feel of an actor on a stage interacting with the audience. Much of the screen time has Bearing talking directly to the camera – as if in conversation with the audience. There are several flashback scenes where Bearing is reflecting on different aspects of her life with the image of Bearing of the present alternating with Bearing of the past. In a scene where she is explaining how she first took an interest in words, we see her with her father as a child. As the scene unfolds, the child’s image is replaced with the adult image – a wonderful portrayal of Bearing’s reflection on her life.

Wit deals with life and death issues, but it deals with many other issues as well – quality of life, respect, human dignity. Yes, it is a movie about redemption, but it is also about being true to oneself. There is a gripping scene at the end of the movie where Professor Bearing is visited by her mentor that becomes the turning point in her life as it now comes to an end.

At a conference where Margaret Edson was a keynote speaker, she gave a wonderful, entertaining, and thought provoking talk. During her talk, she spoke about the play and the movie, but she also spoke about spirituality and the relationship of body and soul. Are the body and soul two separate entities, or are they one? Wit presents hard lessons and choices about life without presenting direct answers, giving the viewer plenty to think about long after the movie has ended. Issues that we all must confront.

— Dan Hardison

Note: Wit is available on DVD. There is also a book by Margaret Edson of the screenplay for Wit.