3. Awakenings (Leonard & Sayer)
The fleeting window of happiness for Robert De Niro's Leonard Lowe, and by extension, the real man, is one of the most moving things ever put on a movie screen, and it's brought out with such humanity through the interaction between the equally complex Leonard and Robin Williams's Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Not for one moment is either character treated like a cardboard cutout, perfect or imperfect. They both have conflicts with themselves and one another that come from real places within the movie. Their relationship goes from doctor and patient to true friends, with all of the ups and downsand in this case, real stakes and life-and-death conflictsthat come with that, and it's brought out so well through the script, the directing, and the acting. It's first-rate character work.