Talk about being caught in an emotional wringer. This film very accurately describes the ups and downs of looking after someone you love who you know may not be long for this world. Despite all the doctors and experts telling you you should make your peace and get ready to say goodbye, you just can't. You're not ready. So you scour every avenue you can to find a miracle cure, spend every spare penny you have, put your life on hold during this fruitless search... But, nothing. And every time it LOOKS like they're making progress and, for a few blessed hours you feel a sense of rapture, the next day you're back to the drawing board. One step forward, two steps back. For the Odone's it was their son Lorenzo, for me it was a pet.
Fortunately in their case, after painstaking research going on for months, and a belligerent attitude that flew in the face of medical science at the time, they were able to find an answer that kept him alive for decades longer than doctors predicted he would. Lorenzo died just one day after his 30th birthday in 2008... outliving his mother in the process. If this isn't a testimony to parental love, I don't know what is. AND they helped many other families who were struggling the same way. I think it's safe to say, without their contribution, the world would be a much more depressive place than it is.
Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon are 100% perfect as the committed father and mother who don't take 'NO' for an answer... Nolte in particular has one scene, where after reading about the devastating symptoms of deterioration his son will experience during his illness, he has a public breakdown on the steps of the library... Which is almost Oscar worthy by itself. That Italian accent he puts on could do with some work, though. There are dull patches... but these tend to work in favour of the film, as they bring home even more what it must be like, sitting next to a family member, attached to a life-support machine, waiting for the slightest sign of optimism...
But, NEVER give up. 7/10
Fortunately in their case, after painstaking research going on for months, and a belligerent attitude that flew in the face of medical science at the time, they were able to find an answer that kept him alive for decades longer than doctors predicted he would. Lorenzo died just one day after his 30th birthday in 2008... outliving his mother in the process. If this isn't a testimony to parental love, I don't know what is. AND they helped many other families who were struggling the same way. I think it's safe to say, without their contribution, the world would be a much more depressive place than it is.
Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon are 100% perfect as the committed father and mother who don't take 'NO' for an answer... Nolte in particular has one scene, where after reading about the devastating symptoms of deterioration his son will experience during his illness, he has a public breakdown on the steps of the library... Which is almost Oscar worthy by itself. That Italian accent he puts on could do with some work, though. There are dull patches... but these tend to work in favour of the film, as they bring home even more what it must be like, sitting next to a family member, attached to a life-support machine, waiting for the slightest sign of optimism...
But, NEVER give up. 7/10