Awakenings

A research physician, Dr. Malcolm Sayer, takes a job at a Bronx hospital despite his reservations about interacting with patients. He discovers that some patients respond uniquely to stimuli, and after researching, he finds a common thread among them: they suffered from encephalitis in the 1920s or 1930s. He convinces his boss to administer an experimental drug therapy to one patient, Leonard Lowe, who has been in a catatonic state since age 11. As the therapy "awakens" Leonard, Malcolm must navigate the challenges of convincing hospital administrators to extend the treatment to other patients, while also dealing with the emotional implications for Leonard and his mother.