When Vivian Bearing (Thompson) learns she has stage IV ovarian cancer, this college professor of English literature finds her thoughts turning inward, toward a grappling with the true nature of compassion. As she is poked and prodded, tested and dosed in a hospital ward by results-driven Dr. Kelekian (Lloyd), Bearing defies despair to deliver wry, astute observations on matters of life and death, trying to maintain dignity in the face of a dehumanizing medical regimen.

Smart and deeply affecting, Mike Nichols's extraordinary adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Margaret Edson wrestles with questions of mortality and humanity. A specialist in the metaphysical poetry of John Donne, Vivian is a woman of sharp, superior intelligence. Winningly played by Thompson, her droll monologues on the experience of being reduced to crude flesh and blood are spiked with acid wit and eloquent honesty, without a shred of self-pity. Brilliant and devastating, "Wit" is a poignant drama masterfully helmed by Emmy winner Nichols.