Taglines: Some people make their own miracles.
Lorenzo’s Oil movie storyline. Lorenzo (Zack O’Malley Greenburg) is a bright and vibrant young boy living in the Comoro Islands, as his father Augusto (Nick Nolte) works for the World Bank and is stationed there. However, when his parents relocate to the United States, he begins to show neurological problems (such as loss of hearing, tantrums, etc.). The boy is diagnosed as having adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), which is fatal within two years.
Failing to find a doctor capable of treating their son’s rare disease, Augusto and his wife Michaela (Susan Sarandon) set out on a mission to find a treatment to save their child. In their quest, the Odones clash with doctors, scientists, and support groups, who are skeptical that anything could be done about ALD, much less by laypeople. But they persist, setting up camp in medical libraries, reviewing animal experiments, enlisting the aid of Professor Gus Nikolais (Peter Ustinov), badgering researchers, questioning top doctors all over the world, and even organizing an international symposium about the disease.
Despite research dead-ends, the horror of watching their son’s health decline, and being surrounded by skeptics (including the coordinators of the support group they attend), they persist until they finally hit upon a therapy involving adding a certain kind of oil (actually containing two specific long chain fatty acids, isolated from rapeseed oil and olive oil) to their son’s diet.
They contact over 100 firms around the world until they find an elderly British chemist (Don Suddaby) working for Croda International who is willing to take on the challenge of distilling the proper formula. The oil, erucic acid, proves successful in normalizing the accumulation of the very long chain fatty acids in the brain that had been causing their son’s steady decline, thereby halting the progression of the disease.
There is still a great deal of neurological damage remaining which could not be reversed unless new treatments could be found to regenerate the myelin sheath (a lipid insulator) around the nerves. The father is seen taking on the new challenge of organizing biomedical efforts to heal myelin damage in patients.
Lorenzo’s Oil is a 1992 American drama directed by George Miller. It is based on the true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, two parents in a relentless search for a cure for their son Lorenzo’s adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). The film was nominated for two Academy Awards. It was filmed primarily from September 1991 to February 1992 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The film had a limited release in North America on December 30, 1992, with a nationwide release two weeks later on January 15, 1993.
Lorenzo’s Oil (1993)
Directed by: George Miller
Starring: Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, Peter Ustinov, Kathleen Wilhoite, Gerry Bamman, Margo Martindale, James Rebhorn, Ann Hearn, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Jennifer Dundas
Screenplay by: George Miller, Nick Enright
Production Design by: Kristi Zea
Cinematography by: John Seale
Film Editing by: Marcus D’Arcy, Richard Francis-Bruce
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: Karen O’Hara
Art Direction by: Dennis Bradford
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for a child’s life threatening ordeal.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: January 15, 1993
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