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      Lorenzo's Oil

      1992, Drama, 2h 15m

      40 Reviews 10,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      A harrowing tribute to the heroism of parental love, Lorenzo's Oil is kept from abject misery by George Miller's sensitive direction and outstanding performances from Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon. Read critic reviews

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      Lorenzo's Oil  Photos

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      Movie Info

      True-life drama of a father and mother who battled against the odds to save their son's life. Augusto and Michaela Odone are dealt a cruel blow by fate: five-year-old Lorenzo is diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease, but the Odones' persistence and faith leads to the cure which saves their boy and re-writes medical history.

      • Rating: PG-13

      • Genre: Drama

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: George Miller

      • Producer: Doug Mitchell, George Miller

      • Writer: George Miller, Nick Enright

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9M

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Universal Pictures

      • Production Co: Universal Pictures

      • Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

      Cast & Crew

      Nick Nolte
      Susan Sarandon
      Peter Ustinov
      Kathleen Wilhoite
      Gerry Bamman
      James Rebhorn
      Ann Hearn
      Mary Wakio
      Arnold Burk
      George Miller
      Nick Enright
      John Seale
      Marcus D'Arcy
      Kristi Zea
      Dennis Bradford
      Karen O'Hara
      Colleen Atwood

      Critic Reviews for Lorenzo's Oil

      Audience Reviews for Lorenzo's Oil

      • Aug 04, 2021

        It has no easy villains or heroes as each character is observed with a nuance that gives their individual perspectives weight. One of the most emotionally satisfying and important movies about the delicate balance required for activism in medicine.

        Super Reviewer
      • Aug 23, 2011

        An emotionally draining examination of possibly the most relentless and heartless disease I've ever heard of, Lorenzo's Oil is well wrought, and most definitely worth watching, due largely in part to the fine performances and educatory stance the film takes. It may frustrate you, but it will undoubtedly affect you.

        Super Reviewer
      • Feb 07, 2011

        A true story about two determined parents who fight to find a cure for their son Lorenzo who has been diagnosed with a rare terminal illness. I found the movie quite boring sometimes when talking about the technical scientific parts of the disease but other times I found myself filled with tears during emotional and heartwarming moments. This movie was very inspiring. However, it could have been a lot better. For one thing, I felt like I was listening to Tommy Pickles' baby gurgling the whole time which was very annoying and distracted me. (This is because Elizabeth Daily played Lorzenzo's heavy breathing. She is also the voice of Tommy Pickles on the Nickelodeon TV show "Rugrats.") Also, sometimes the movie was so technical, it would appeal to someone with a scientific mind and lose people who have less interest in the science and more in the relationships. The acting was really good in this movie and I was very impressed with Zack O'Malley Greenburg's acting. He must have been QUITE a child actor or maybe he really did have a disease. He also spoke different languages! Wow. There was also a slightly heavy-handed scene where the father falls down the stairs and starts tearing at his shirt. This was bizarre and concerning but maybe a parent really would act like that if he knew his son would probably die and there wasn't much he could do about it. The best part of this movie was seeing the love that Lorenzo's parents had for him, and watching his mother Michaela reading to him and talking to him as a human being, not a vegetable, even though he was incapacitated and couldn't respond without blinking his eyes and moving his pinky finger.

        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 07, 2010

        Like cod liver oil, this is a film to watch because it is good for you. You get to see the love of parents for their ailing child and how they find the cure on their own. Yee haw! Yes it is good but haven't we all seen these things before?

        Super Reviewer

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