REVIEW: ‘Oliver Sacks: His Own Life’
Photo: Oliver Sacks: His Own Life captures the famed neurologist during his final year of life. Photo courtesy of Zeitgeist Films / Provided by Film Forum.
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life is a documentary that matches the exquisiteness of its subject, and that’s saying something when the subject is Oliver Sacks. The famed neurologist, who died in 2015, was known as the poet laureate of medicine because of his carefully rendered case studies that eventually became bestselling books, including Awakenings, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams.
Sacks lived a full life, dedicating himself to his patients and his writing. He was beloved by friends and colleagues, but he also faced numerous challenges. His parents didn’t accept that he was gay, and his writing on neurology and unique approach to treating patients took some time to win over the medical establishment.
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, which is currently available to stream from New York City’s Film Forum, takes an intricate look at Sacks’ personal and professional life, detailing his early years of coming out and trying to find a partner, to his eventual groundbreaking work treating patients with Asperger’s and Tourette’s syndromes, Parkinson’s disease, colorblindness, migraines and rare neurological conditions. When he was one on one with a patient, Sacks came alive. He would hold their hand, look them in the eye and treat them with the dignity that had been robbed of them while they struggled (and sometimes suffered) in a hospital setting. The neurologist was interested in respecting their conditions and improving upon their life’s potential.
Along the way, Sacks started to write his thoughts and case studies down, and, lo and behold, these passages turned out to be beautifully rendered. He had a way with his patients and a way with words, and this built an audience of readers who flipped through his pages and learned about individuals with fascinating stories to tell. The Awakenings movie, according to the documentary, was Sacks’ entry point to the elite of the medical world. He won over many skeptical minds and continued his work, all the way up to his his death in 2015.
Ric Burns directs Oliver Sacks: His Own Life with the same type of dignity that the doctor showed his patients. In a series of interviews filmed during Sacks’ final year, the neurologist opens up about many important topics, and he’s quick with humorous commentary and simple, but effective retellings of his life’s struggles and triumphs. In these scenes, he is surrounded by his partner, who came to him later in life; his editor, who stuck with him for years; his publisher, who remains a cheerleader of his written word; and the friends and colleagues who were lucky enough to converse with the master of conversing.
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life shines light on someone who taught the world so much, and apparently has so much more to teach.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (2020). Directed by Rick Burns. Running time: 110 minutes. Zeitgeist Films. Rating: 
Currently available to stream from New York City’s Film Forum. Click here for more information.
