30 Day Blog Challenge Day 19: Film Review - Lorenzo's Oil.

 As part of an effort to improve my blog, I will now be reviewing books and films related to disabilities and medical conditions. The first film I am going to review is Lorenzo's Oil. 

Lorenzo's Oil  is a 1992 film starring Susan Sarandon and.Nick Nolte, with  Zach O' Malley Greenburg playing the role of Lorenzo.

 The film is based on the true life story of Lorenzo who has  Adreonleukodystrophy (ALD). His parents notice symptoms  when he is five years old. The  condition is a defect in the X-chromosome which is passed onto him by his mother. What happens is it kills off white brain matter and causes neurological disability. In Lorenzo's case, over time this meant that he got to the point where he was bedridden and couldn't move, walk or talk.

 The film is incredibly touching, and I really enjoy any film that is based on the life of anybody with some type of disability or medical condition. I wish there were more films made like this. What struck me about the film is that the whole scenario is really well done, and the film is really realistic. Sometimes, I've seen films based on true stories that are not as realistic. What I liked about this was the fact that Susan Sarandon was in it. She is a great actress, and I have seen many of her films. Here are some articles on the more scientific aspects of ALD. Lorenzo died aged 30 at his home in Washington DC with his dad and close friend nearby.

  Information about the film and critiques http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo%27s_Oil

Information about Lorenzo's parents and their fight to create Lorenzo's Oil, a treatment for ALD. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_and_Michaela_Odone

 More about Lorenzo himself. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Odone

 Information about ALD http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenoleukodystrophy

The Myelin Project researches about, and raises awareness of, ALD. Read more here

http://www.myelin.org/lorenzosoil.html

My personal opinion is that the film was very good in providing an insight into adrenoleukodystrophy which I otherwise never had heard of , and also into Lorenzo and his family's life. I would have liked to have seen Lorenzo later on in the film because at the end it says that Lorenzo made some progress by being able to control a computer which allowed him to talk. All the parts were very well acted, and the film is very cleverly done but also very emotional.

I was very saddened by news of his death. 

The film 

Lorenzo Odone