Nicholas' Gift

*Nicholas' Gift*
Nicholas' Gift
	DVD cover
Written by	Christine Berardo
Directed by	Robert Markowitz
Starring	Jamie Lee Curtis; Alan Bates;
Composer	Carlo Siliotto
Country of origin	Italy; United States;
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Lorenzo Minoli; Judd Parkin;
Producer	Russell Kagan
Cinematography	Raffaele Mertes
Editor	David Beatty
Running time	90 minutes
Production companies	Lux Vide; Mediaset; Five Mile River Films;
Original release
Network	Canale 5 (Italy); CBS (United States);
Release	April 21, 1998

Nicholas' Gift is a 1998 drama television film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by Christine Berardo. A co-production between Italy and the United States, it stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Alan Bates as an American couple who, after their son was mortally wounded during a family vacation in Italy, decide to donate the child's organs. The film received positive reviews and earned Curtis a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance.

Plot

Nicholas' Gift is a fact based drama about an American couple on vacation in Italy in 1994 with their two children who are attacked and shot by highway bandits. Shortly they discover that their son (named and based on Nicholas Green) is brain dead. The parents are then faced with the hard decision to donate the boy's organs which ultimately led to saving the lives of seven seriously ill Italian patients.

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis as Maggie Green
Alan Bates as Reg Green
Gene Wexler as Nicholas Green
Hallie Eisenberg as Eleanor Green
Isabella Ferrari as Alessandra Grascia
Anita Zagaria as Anna Bianchi
Roberto Bisacco as Dr. Cipriano
Ennio Coltorti as Dr. Santucci
Nazzareno Costantini as Angelo Bianchi
Manrico Gammarota as Paolo Bianchi
Daniele Pio as Stefano Bianchi
Carlo Cartier as Inspector Tramontana
Jeremy Zimmermann as Richard Brown

Reception

Critical response

Tom Jicha of the Sun-Sentinel was very positive about the film, describing it as "a wonderfully poignant movie that conveys an important message worthy of the widest possible circulation."^[2] In his review for The New York Times, Rick Lyman wrote that "a veteran cast pushing a commendable message is not quite enough to elevate Nicholas' Gift above being a by-the-numbers tear-jerker."^[3] The Deseret News praised the film for "superb performances by Jamie Lee Curtis and Alan Bates, tight steering by an award-winning director, an Italian crew schooled in feature film making, an intelligent script based on a riveting real-life story, and an almost religious commitment from everyone involved in the project to make a film worthy of its subjects."^[4]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
1998	50th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Jamie Lee Curtis	Nominated	^[5]
1999	20th Youth in Film Awards	Best Family TV Movie / Pilot / Mini-Series	Nicholas' Gift	Nominated	^[6]
1999	50th Christopher Awards	Television Specials	Robert Markowitz Christine Berardo Russell Kagan Lorenzo Minoli Judd Parkin Paolo Piria	Won

References

^ "Nicholas' Gift". Lux Vide. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
^ Jicha, Tom (April 24, 1998). "'NICHOLAS' GIFT' IS SURE TO TOUCH YOUR HEART". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Lyman, Rick (April 25, 1998). "TELEVISION REVIEW; A Boy Is Slain, and Gives Life to Others". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ "'Nicholas' Gift' is a superb true-life movie". Deseret News. April 25, 1998. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ "Nicholas' Gift - Emmy Awards, Nominations and Wins". Television Academy. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ "The 20th Annual Youth in Film Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links

Nicholas' Gift at IMDb

[1] "Nicholas' Gift". Lux Vide. Retrieved October 19, 2022.

[2] Jicha, Tom (April 24, 1998). "'NICHOLAS' GIFT' IS SURE TO TOUCH YOUR HEART". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[3] Lyman, Rick (April 25, 1998). "TELEVISION REVIEW; A Boy Is Slain, and Gives Life to Others". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[4] "'Nicholas' Gift' is a superb true-life movie". Deseret News. April 25, 1998. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[5] "Nicholas' Gift - Emmy Awards, Nominations and Wins". Television Academy. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[6] "The 20th Annual Youth in Film Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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