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News & Current Events Mar 25, 2026 at 12:06 AM

Emma Thompson is poignant and beyond brilliant in Wit (2001)

Posted by bookbookgo

\*TRIGGER WARNING: has to do with terminal cancer. Emma Thompson plays a snobbish, bookish, and searingly honest English professor in Wit (2001), an extremely intelligently written movie. The movie begins with her terminal diagnosis of stage iv cancer and her introspection and experience as she slowly reaches end of life. As morbid as it sounds, the movie is breathtaking in its honesty and humanity. I do not usually watch movies like this because they seem to be just too depressing. But this movie hits differently. It is brilliantly written and acted. I cannot believe how few people seem to know about it. It is as relevant today 25 years later and has aged extremely well. A must watch especially if you’re older but also for the young as a cautionary tale about not losing your humanity in the midst of your goals.
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16 Comments

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Kooky-Breadfruit-356 Mar 25, 2026 +9
oh man wit is such a hidden gem, never see anyone talking about it but emma thompson just destroys in that role. the way she handles the shift from this cold academic to someone confronting mortality is incredible watched it few years back during rough patch in life and it really stuck with me. based in john donne play right? the writing is just chef's kiss
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bookbookgo Mar 25, 2026 +3
Omg yes! She’s also written the screenplay alongside the director. I cannot stress how brilllliant she and the movie are!!! Glad to find someone else that appreciates it!!
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Providence451 Mar 25, 2026 +6
The stage play is fantastic.
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bookbookgo Mar 25, 2026 +2
Yes I checked out the Wikipedia page later and it did say it’s based on a play!
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Physical-Compote4594 Mar 25, 2026 +5
Emma Thompson is one of our most brilliant people in every way 
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[deleted] Mar 25, 2026 +3
[removed]
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bookbookgo Mar 25, 2026 +1
Yep!
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ZorroMeansFox Mar 25, 2026 +3
As a side appreciation: Emma's performance in the recent thriller **Dead Of Winter** was a terrific piece of character work, and it gave the narrative some grounded tension and gravitas.
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catathymia Mar 25, 2026 +3
I cried so hard watching this it was embarrassing. Beautiful performance.
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thethinkasaurus Mar 25, 2026 +3
Emma Thompson is a once in a lifetime, untouchable talent.
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SlippyFrog81 Mar 25, 2026 +2
Emma Thompson is poignant and beyond brilliant in everything.
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bookbookgo Mar 25, 2026 +1
Yep
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GrapefruitPersonal10 Mar 25, 2026 +4
Finally someone talks about Wit, honestly my favourite performance of her. I found it free on YouTube some years ago and I watch it at least one a year.
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bookbookgo Mar 25, 2026 +1
Such an underrated gem!
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gwazmalurk Mar 25, 2026 -1
Oh and I thought she looked f****** amazing and everything for Bugonia cause I dint know who tf she was or anything, enjoyed the movie. All the comments here are real smart, which made me feel empowered to chime in.
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Peptoflex Mar 25, 2026 -4
So on this sub and on r/funny, I keep getting new posts that come to the top of my feed. No offense to the OP here, but these posts that keep showing up are unvetted and just not what I want to see. Or in the case of r/funny, they are not funny. I am genuinely asking so I don't have to unsubscribe from these subs. Is there something in my settings I need to change? When I go to the actual sub page, it sorts posts by "best", why is my feed taking new posts from these subs and putting them at the top of my page? It's irritating.
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