...First Do No Harm (1997)

The story of one woman's struggle against a narrow-minded medical establishment.

Director:

Jim Abrahams

Writer:

Ann Beckett

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Fred Ward, Seth Adkins

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Lori Reimuller
Fred Ward	...	Dave Reimuller
Seth Adkins	...	Robbie Reimuller
Margo Martindale	...	Marjean
Allison Janney	...	Dr. Melanie Abbasac
Oni Faida Lampley	...	Marsha Williams
Leo Burmester	...	Bob Purdue
Tom Butler	...	Dr. Jim Peterson
Mairon Bennett	...	Lynne Reimuller
Michael Yarmush	...	Mark Reimuller
Sean McCann
Millicent Kelly	...	Self
Philip Williams
Philip Akin
Damir Andrei

Storyline

When Lori Reimuller learns that her young son Robbie has epilepsy, she first trusts the judgment of the hospital staff in how best to bring it under control. As Robbie's health slides radically downhill, however, she becomes frustrated and desperate, and so does her own research into the existing literature on treatments. When she decides to try an alternative treatment called the Ketogenic Diet, devised long ago by a doctor from Johns Hopkins, she is met with narrow-minded resistance from Robbie's doctor, who is prepared to take legal action to prevent Lori from removing him from the hospital. This movie is an indictment of those in the medical profession who discuss only the treatment options they favor. Several of the minor characters are portrayed by people who have been not just helped, but cured by the Ketogenic diet.

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Plot Keywords:

tickling a child | doctor | hospital | medical profession | epilepsy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense emotional and physical depiction of a child's illness

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jim Abrahams helped set up the Charlie Foundation in Santa Monica, California, an institution dedicated to spreading the word about the ketogenic diet to major paediatric neurological centres. It was through this network that he first came into contact with the Reimullers, the family depicted in the film.

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Over the Rainbow
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Performed by Aretha Franklin

User Reviews

A bit didactic, but absorbing.

Although this film is a bit heavy-handed in its efforts to promote the Ketogenic diet as an alternative treatment for epilepsy, it does address many of the issues that face families when a member is diagnosed with serious illness. In addition, Seth Adkins (who has since portrayed Pinocchio in the TV movie "Geppeto") does an absolutely amazing job of portraying several different types of seizure, a feat which would be remarkable even for an adult. A very watchable flick.

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

...First Do No Harm

Filming Locations:

Orono, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pebblehut Productions, Jaffe/Braunstein Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1