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Poster for ...First Do No Harm

...First Do No Harm

1997 · 90 min

A heartfelt, frustrating fight against a medical system, anchored by a fierce maternal performance and a sense of desperate hope.

Tagline
She went looking for help... and found a miracle
Overview
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.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • earneststrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • parenthood
  • survival
  • justice
  • healing
Places
  • small town
  • hospital
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror2
Humour1
Realism8
Romance1
Tension6
Darkness6
Complexity4
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, tv movie
Directed by
Jim Abrahams
Written by
Ann Beckett
Starring
Meryl Streep, Fred Ward, Allison Janney, Seth Adkins, Margo Martindale, Tom Butler, Leo Burmester, Mairon Bennett
Music
Hummie Mann
Cinematography
Pierre Letarte
Runtime
90 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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