Really Surprised!

Just so...so bad

Did you people see the same film I saw?

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

I cannot remember any film about a character of real Life or just a character that does not come from the comics where an actor has used false ears to play the role, especially when his original ears are not that much different in the first Place (but different enough for me to spot it). Was it Pacino's commitment to the role or was it an acquirement by the director or some other people - that, of course, I do not know. Most people don't spot the ears and for most people putting on false ears was totally unnecessary. Nevertheless this is what I Think is most staggering in this performance.

Jack Kevorkian (Al Pacino) is the Michigan doctor who started assisted-suicide with his sister Brenda Vaccaro (Margo Janus) and his friend Neal Nicol (John Goodman). He encounters political opposition and charged in court. He is helped by Janet Good (Susan Sarandon) who leads a support group and lawyer Geoffrey Fieger (Danny Huston). He is a child of Armenian genocide survivors.It's a good biopic by director Barry Levinson. Pacino is masterful. The title "You Don't Know Jack" is accusational and suggests a more in-depth psychological examination of the man. There is nothing wrong with this but it doesn't dig that deep into his origins. The most insightful scene is a passing conversation between Janet and Brenda about the Kevorkian parents. It would have been a great addition to have them talk to a child Jack about the death and destruction of the genocide. It would be a great pairing with his rantings about the Nazis. It needs some tying together.

There are very few films that I think should be seen by every adult over the age of 30. This is one of them. As always, this film belongs to Al Pacino. His depiction of this little known or understood man, a groundbreaking personality in any regard, is both subtle and incredibly powerful. While Dr. Kavorkian was known as hero to those afflicted with intractable pain and suffering, and to others, namely those who call themselves Christians, he was viewed as Satan incarnate. My sympathies are unapologetic, and equally doubtless. I think that Jack Kavorkian was a great man, as important as any iconic figure in recent history, and a fearless fighter for human rights and dignity in the face of both the laws of a nation, and the laws of a particular religion. In my eyes, he was a relentless seeker of truth, a warrior without armor. In years hence, I believe he will be viewed in a far more acceptable and positive light. RIP.

This is a remarkable little movie in its odd way. You have a man who wanted to change the world for the better, a doctor. He had some reasonable but gnarly ideas, including blood transfusion from cadavers. He may not had been Galileo as perhaps in his moments of persecution felt some kinship to, but he did argue for reason and science and tried to make life better.The snag is that he had vision of a sort but he was the worst possible guy to explain to the world. No one would listen until he went out on his own and did it. And the only reason anyone listened was because he made films about it, filmed his patients. So how about this for a deeply cinematic subject?The point is that reason, facts or ideas, do not change the world. Being able to present it as part of an appealing story does.You'll see this in the film for a clear effect, in Kevorkian having sound ideas but no one is really willing to be convinced, since he presents them in such a morbid , confrontational way, until he pulls out his films. It is the emotional story in those films that moves the jurors, the theatrics of conscience on display.The film is the same theatrics offering the same cry. We are the jury.Al Pacino was just the right man for the job - playing a favorite part of aging actors, the frazzled old person, he nails the right balance between visionary flame in earnest and slumping human shell in his baggy pants. DeNiro would not manage, not anymore.