Wit
Genre	Drama
Based on	Wit byMargaret Edson
Written by	Emma Thompson Mike Nichols
Directed by	Mike Nichols
Starring	Emma Thompson Christopher Lloyd Audra McDonald Eileen Atkins
Music by	Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Cary Brokaw Mike Nichols
Producer	Simon Bosanquet
Cinematography	Seamus McGarvey
Editor	John Bloom
Running time	98 minutes
Production companies	HBO Films Avenue Pictures
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	March 24, 2001 (2001-03-24)

Wit is a 2001 Americantelevisiondrama film directed byMike Nichols. The teleplay by Nichols andEmma Thompson is based on the 1999Pulitzer Prize-winningplay of the same title byMargaret Edson.

The film was shown at theBerlin International Film Festival on February 9, 2001 before being broadcast byHBO on March 24. It was shown at theEdinburgh Film Festival and theWarsaw Film Festival later in the year.

Vivian Bearing is a professor ofEnglish literature known for her intense knowledge ofmetaphysical poetry, especially theHoly Sonnets ofJohn Donne. Her life takes a turn when she is diagnosed withmetastatic Stage IVovarian cancer.Oncologist Harvey Kelekian prescribes variouschemotherapy treatments to treat her disease, and as she suffers through the various side-effects (such as fever, chills, vomiting, and abdominal pain), she attempts to put everything in perspective. The story periodicallyflashes back to previous moments in her life, including her childhood, hergraduate school studies, and her career prior to her diagnosis. During the course of the film, she continually breaks thefourth wall by looking into the camera and expressing her feelings.

As she grows increasingly ill, Vivian agrees to undergo more tests and experimental treatments, even though she realizes the doctors treating her, including former student Jason Posner, see her less as someone to save and more as aguinea pig for their treatments. The only person who seems to care for her as a person is Susie Monahan, one of thenurses on the staff.

Late in Vivian's illness, the only visitor she receives in the hospital is her former graduate school professor and mentor, Evelyn Ashford, who reads her excerpts fromMargaret Wise Brown'sThe Runaway Bunny. Ashford observes that the story is "a little allegory of the soul. No matter where it hides. God will find it".

As she nears the end of her life, Vivian manages to maintain her dignity and wit even as she is finally confronted with her own frailty and need for compassion. Vivian dies at the end of the film, with her voiceover reciting "death be not proud".

• Emma Thompson as Dr. Vivian Bearing, Ph.D.
• Audra McDonald as Susie Monahan, R.N.
• Jonathan M. Woodward as Dr. Jason Posner
• Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Harvey Kelekian
• Eileen Atkins as Dr. Evelyn Ashford, Ph.D.
• Harold Pinter as Mr. Bearing

In preparation for the role of Vivian Bearing, Emma Thompson shaved her head, following in the footsteps of actresses such asKathleen Chalfant andJudith Light, who had performed the role on stage.^[1]

The film was shot at thePinewood Studios inLondon.^[2]

The soundtrack includes a number ofclassical pieces, including the Serenade Adagio fromDmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 15,Spiegel im Spiegel byArvo Pärt, the second movement ofHenryk Mikolaj Gorecki'sSymphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), andThe Unanswered Question byCharles Ives.

The film was received with general acclaim. OnRotten Tomatoes it has a score of 83% based on reviews from 12 critics.^[3]

Eddie Cockrell ofVariety called the film "shrewd and triumphant" and "focused, emotionally draining and ultimately inspiring" and added, "The risks in filming such a theatrical experience are enormous, yet the original material has been carefully and smartly reworked for the screen by Thompson and Nichols . . . Subtle yet crucial shifts from theatrical to film conventions abound, reaffirming Thompson's skill as both writer and actress . . . as well as Nichols' proven track record with theatrical properties."^[2]

Caryn James ofThe New York Times observed, "Emma Thompson gives one of her most brilliant performances as Vivian Bearing...Mr. Nichols and Ms. Thompson, who wrote the script together, have made minimal changes to the play, but those amount to a major transformation. They have preserved Ms. Edson's language and intense focus on Vivian's hospital room as she endures eight months of brutal experimental chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. But Mr. Nichols's visual choices turn this into a fluent, gripping television film...The hospital staff around her is played beautifully by actors who escape the hazards of clichés. As Jason, a young doctor proud of the A minus he once got in Vivian's poetry course, Jonathan M. Woodward makes his character's callowness and insensitivity believable. As Susie, the nurse whose total compassion makes her Jason's opposite, Audra McDonald is especially impressive because the character could so easily have been treated with condescension...E. M. Ashford is played with unerring delicacy by Eileen Atkins in a performance that matches Ms. Thompson's brilliance.... [L]et's not pretend thatWit is fun or necessarily soothing; frankly, it is depressing. But if you miss this version, you will also miss a rare experience."^[4]

In his July 3, 2008 blog,Roger Ebert recalled namingWit one of the year's best on hisBest Films of 2001 program withRichard Roeper, even though it never opened theatrically. He described it as "both intelligent and heartbreaking" and called Emma Thompson's performance "her best work on film." He said when he tried to watch the DVD in later years, he discovered "I actually could not watch the movie. I remembered it too clearly, perhaps, and dreaded re-living it. When I reviewed it, its situation was theoretical for me, and I responded to the honesty and emotion of the drama. Since then, I have had cancer, and had all too many hours, days and weeks of hospital routine robbing me of my dignity. Although people in my situation are always praised for their courage, actually courage has nothing to do with it. There is no choice."^[5]

Critics fromThe A.V. Club,^[6]New York Magazine,^[7]Los Angeles Times,San Francisco Chronicle^[8] andThe Wall Street Journal,^[9] among others, also praised the film and its performances. Nichols' direction was lauded in many reviews as well.

HBO Home Video released the film in16:9 format on DVD on September 11, 2001.

• Wit atIMDb

• 2001 television films
• 2001 films
• 2001 drama films
• American films based on plays
• American drama television films
• Films about academia
• Films about cancer in the United States
• Films about death
• Films about educators
• Films directed by Mike Nichols
• Films shot at Pinewood Studios
• Films with screenplays by Emma Thompson
• HBO Films films
• Films set in hospitals
• Medical-themed films
• Peabody Award–winning broadcasts
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners
• 2000s American films
• 2000s English-language films

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from April 2025
• Use American English from January 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English