The film's inclusion of scenes from Leonard's childhood combines with close-up camera shots in the opening to establish intimacy between the viewer and Leonard. The screenplay allots time to depicting Leonard's early years before encephalitis to arouse greater sympathy in viewers when the first signs of abnormality appear during his childhood. The opening scenes of Awakenings depict Leonard as a regular boy with close friends and a good academic standing in school. A close-up of the teacher's grade book reveals A's and B's for every assignment, suggesting that Leonard once had the potential for a great future. This painting of Leonard's normal childhood development precedes the onset of early encephalitis symptoms, first manifested with uncontrollable hand tremors. Close-up shots of Leonard's hand encourage empathy towards Leonard, while odd camera angles convey his confusion and difficulty. Witnessing the effects these tremors had on Leonard's young life causes us to view as a helpless victim, one who deserves our sympathy.

After flashing forward thirty years, Marshall uses the dialogue of Mrs. Lowe and close-up shots of the catatonic Leonard to further intensify the viewer's feelings of sympathy. When Dr. Sayer requests to hear more about Leonard's life, Mrs. Lowe relates the details of Leonard's story to Sayer and the viewers. Through her monologue, viewers learn how encephalitis forced Leonard to drop out of school, to stop playing with friends, and to lose the ability to write. Viewers also discover that Leonard became bed-ridden and mute for nine years prior to Bainbridge, and could only pass the time by reading. Detailing Leonard's quality of life during his adolescent and teenage years makes viewers sympathize with Leonard as they realize the extent to which he suffered at such a young age.

Close-up camera shots enhance this sympathy when the focus switches to Leonard in a catatonic state at the age of fifty. The camera focuses on Leonard by zooming in on his stiff, wheelchair-bound body and the unchanging expression on his face. During the strobe light test and the Ouija board exercise, more close-ups emphasize the expressionless look that still remains on Leonard's face despite Dr. Sayer's efforts to communicate with him. When Mrs. Lowe gives him juice to drink, the close-up shows Leonard's eyes transfixed in one place and his face unmoved, causing the juice to spill down the side of his mouth. Not only does Marshall use close-ups of Leonard to aid in viewers' understanding, she also includes close-ups of other patients with encephalitis. Dr. Sayer's first patient, Lucy, displays the same lack of expression on her face as Leonard did. When Dr. Sayer attempts to reach Lucy by moving her glasses, a close-up on Lucy's rigid face suggests that she no longer functions as a living person. In Awakenings, viewers growing familiarity with encephalitis helps them better understand the sickness' effects on its unfortunate victims.

Once Leonard "awakes" via the experimental drug L-dopa, Marshall uses the powerful screenplay at his disposal and innovative camera techniques to transport viewers into Leonard's mind, giving viewers, for the first time, an intimate understanding of his perspective. The moment of awakening for Leonard involves yet another close-up, which, paired with the lighting upon his face, highlights his new ability for expression. This close-up draws attention to the first time Leonard has smiled in thirty years, causing viewers to smile too as they share in his surprise and wonderment at being "awake." The subsequent close-ups reveal Leonard's blissful reaction as he feels the air from a fan and the wind from outside on his face, both of which he has been unable to experience for the majority of his life. The moment Leonard looks at his picture and then his reflection in the mirror marks the first time viewers see things from Leonard's perspective.

Due to his surprised reaction upon seeing himself as an adult, it becomes clear to viewers that Leonard had no experience of time's passage while in his catatonic state. Sensitive viewers will feel sympathy for Leonard because they recognize along with Leonard how much of his life has passed him by during his long sleep. The sadness viewers feel quickly transforms into excitement and happiness, however, as they see the people, buildings, and scenery surrounding Leonard when he goes for a drive with Dr. Sayer. Viewers experience the excitement of being in a new place, like a kid in a candy store. The close-ups capture Leonard's ongoing excitement when he describes to Dr. Sayer the importance of reminding people about the good things in life and all the joy, gifts, and freedom they have. These close-ups, combined with the aforementioned camera angles, enhance viewers' intimacy with Leonard since they encourage viewers to see life from his point of view.

By allowing viewers to then witness Leonard's downward spiral into his previous catatonic state, and choosing capturing this so dramatically with plenty of close-up camera shots, the director encourages viewers' pity to become heartfelt empathy. The start of Leonard's decline begins in the meeting with the doctors of the board, a scene in which close-ups draw our attention to the first sign of tics in Leonard's left arm. Following a failed attempt to go for a walk by himself, doctors and police officers drag him away while viewers see the door from Leonard's perspective, slowly disappearing from sight. This enables viewers to feel the imprisonment that Leonard experiences as the doctors begin to deny him any hope of lasting freedom. Pain soon replaces the feeling of restraint in viewers as Leonard's symptoms intensify over time. Marshall exhausts the close-up filming technique as she captures the drug's side effects and the reappearance of encephalitis' symptoms in Leonard. The numerous close-ups show Leonard's head moving uncontrollably back and forth, his hands shaking, his torso in constant motion, and his mouth unsteady. The close-ups also make it obvious that the uncontrollable tics cause Leonard a deep sense of helplessness, returning him to the status of victim. Because viewers have followed Leonard's story since childhood, they are more likely to react emotionally as they watch him suffer, feeling disappoint and profound sadness as he returns to his catatonic state. Marshall captures this climactic moment with a close-up of Leonard's face, which turns expressionless once more. While seeing a character enter a catatonic state may move one pity, knowing he briefly experienced life without his disability transforms pity to heartbreak.

The inclusion of Leonard's story from childhood to adulthood gives viewers an intimate understanding of his experience that even the other characters in the film do not share. Marshall's close-up shots of Leonard throughout the movie, along with his positioning the camera to reveal Leonard's perspective, assist in helping viewers obtain an understanding of Leonard's disability and, therefore, feel a deep connection to him. The initial feelings of pity in the first half of Awakenings turn into something deeper by the end. Only through the layout of the story could Marshall produce this close connection between viewers and Leonard. When Leonard expresses joy or happiness, the viewers experience the same emotions. Similarly, when Leonard expresses sadness or pain, it tugs at viewers' heartstrings, causing them pain and sadness, too. Once viewers witness life through Leonard's eyes, they experience a call to action, an "awakening" of their own, to make the most out of their time and, more importantly, to view their life as a gift.

by Jennifer Frazier

Works Cited

At First Sight. Screenplay by Steve Levitt. Dir. Irwin Winkler. Perf. Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Steven Weber, Nathan Lane. 1999. DVD. MGM Home Entertainment, 1999.

Awakenings. Screenplay by Steven Zaillian. Dir. Penny Marshall. Perf. Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson. 1990. DVD. Sony Pictures, 1997.

Marnie. Screenplay by Jay Presson Allen. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Sean Connery, Tippi Hedren, Martin Gabel, Louise Latham. 1964. DVD. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2005.

Spider. Screenplay by Patrick McGrath. Dir. David Cronenberg. Perf. Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave. 2002. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2003.