Dying Young DVD > Reviews > A heart felt film

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Great acting
Disadvantages:	Can be sad

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Dying Young, 1991

I am a big Julia Roberts fan, but this film somehow escaped me until last week when it was showing on Flim4.

The Story:

It is one of her earlier films, but it is also one of her best as far as I am concerned. Julia plays Hilary a young lady looking makes something of herself. She applies to work a home career/ nurse even though she has little to no experience.

Victor is a young man suffering from Leukaemia, his father wants him to have a home nurse to look after him, but Victor insists that he chose and interview his own.

When Victor interviews Hilary he is taken in not only by her beauty but by the way she treats like a normal person rather than someone who is dying. He gives her the job straight away and Hilary jumps at the chance, the money is great and she will also get her own room.

On her first day Hilary is in for a shock, Victor is undergoing intrusive chemo therapy that leaves him very sick, he gets the shakes and is violently ill, he gets frustrated and screams a lot, he gets angry and smashes things. He explains that he is being poisoned because they have to kill the Leukaemia inside him.

At first Hilary finds this very hard to deal with and questions if she is up the job but as she gets to know Victor as a person she decided to carry on and help him the best she can. She turns to books and researches as much as she can.

After several months together Victor is desperate for Hilary to see him as he once was, so he announces that he has now completed his course and wants to go away to the sea for his recovery. He asks Hilary to accompany him and she agrees.

They start a new life together by the sea, making friends and having fun with each other. They start to get to know each other as more than patient and nurse.
But secretly Victor knows that his happiness will be short lived as he starts to get ill again.

My thoughts:

I really liked this film; I felt that it dealt with a sensitive issue very well indeed. I felt that it was a good choice to use a young man as the patient showing that cancer can happen to anyone, no matter how old you are or how healthy you are.

The earlier scenes in which Victor is undergoing chemotherapy are a harsh reality, his suffering is in no way tamed down and can be disturbing to watch.
Campbell Scott plays the character of Victor with much talent, showing the different stages and emotions someone suffering from Leukaemia would go through.
Anger, upset, frustration, self loathing etc all are displayed with care and compassion.

Julia Roberts's acting talents are also very evident in this film; she has a great natural beauty which fills the screen with her flowing locks, she also shows great passion and vulnerability on screen. She can do upset and concern but it is when she smiles that the screen lights up and her energy is always evident.

I found this story very compelling and felt the acting very sincere, I recommend this film but advise that you have your tissues ready.