...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	...	Herself
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 | 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

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Au risque de te perdre

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charlie Abrahams went from having 90 epileptic seizures per day to none after going on the ketogenic diet.

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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

excellent realistic, heart wrenching story

Meryl Streep took a break from feature films for a rare TV movie role, while Jim (Airplane!) Abrahams took a break from wacky comedies, to tell this extraordinary story of a family that must take its health care into its own hands when the medical complex is failing them - after losing almost everything. Their son seems to have a variety of epilepsy that's tragically difficult to diagnose and treat.

Many have lost family members because they didn't have the strength and courage to challenge their doctors' biases before it was too late. So this true story is an important vaccine for people who need to take back responsibility for their families' health. It's a stark contrast and partial antidote to thousands of made-up movie and TV medical stories.

Streep, Fred Ward and the rest of the cast are superb. Allison Janney is perfectly cast as the doctor, because in real life the 'bad guys' are often smart, attractive, and certain they're doing the right thing.