TV REVIEW: 'YOU DON'T KNOW JACK'

Dr. Death Takes a Holiday on HBO

By: Mark Amato

April 27, 2010

HBO has done it again with this week's two-part biography on mercy killer-turned-activist Jack Kevorkian. With feature-level performances from everyone involved, including a top-notch script by Adam Mazer, superb direction from Barry Levinson and stand-out performance by Al Pacino. You quickly find yourself mesmerized whenever he's on the screen, punctuating his performance with subtlety, pathos and a even a healthy dose of humor.

The film begins inauspiciously enough in 1989, when the former pathologist starts assisting terminally ill patients in ending their suffering through various methods of suicide. Aided by his friend Neal Nicol (played by John Goodman) and older sister Margo (played by Brenda Vaccaro), Kevorkian begins offering "death counseling" services to those in desperate need...and surprisingly, his business quickly takes off. By earning the support of Hemlock Society activist Janet Good (played by Susan Sarandon), as Kevorkian begins taking his crusade to the press, he eventually becomes a prime target by the county prosecutor's office, who want to stop his mercy killing and try him for murder. It doesn't take long for Kevorkian to realize he needs an advocate...which leads him to the flamboyant grand-standing defense attorney Geoff Feiger (played by Danny Huston).

Though you might think you're familiar with the story of Kevorkian, Mazer's deftly written script sheds a fresh perspective on the macabre doctor's trials and tribulations which eventually lead to a guilty verdict for second degree murder. Where ever your moral lines were drawn during the controversy nearly two decades ago, Levinson strives to cast a new light on the hot-button topic by focusing on Kevorkian's enigmatic personality, told in part through original interviews with patients, cleverly and seamlessly splicing Pacino into the raw footage.

For his part, Pacino shines in the role of the passionate crusader, choosing to concentrate on his Midwestern accent and understated persona rather than going for the over-the-top portrayals of some of his past work, most notably And Justice For All, since there are many similarities, especially when Kevorkian represents himself and is forced to address the court.

Despite preconceptions, Kevorkian actually turned down 97 percent of the requests he received for physician-assisted suicide. In the film, we witness several such instances, including a woman in the early stages of Alzheimer's and a severely disfigured man who tried to commit suicide by dousing himself with gasoline and setting himself on fire.

Filled with some pleasant surprises, including a terrific performance from Brenda Vaccaro, who hasn't been seen in awhile and springs to life with instant chemistry as Jack's long suffering older sister. You'll find yourself laughing out loud when Jack makes several comments about his sister's new wig.

As for Kevorkian's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger comes off as an egotistical opportunist with an unquenchable appetite for the spotlight. It's only Kevorkian's fervor and ultimate arrogance with the legal system that eventually becomes his undoing. Clearly an odd bird from the start, you still can't help but find yourself rooting for the underdog, regardless of where your political views lie on the subject.

If you thought you knew everything there was to know about Jack Kevorkian, guess again. Although, at 82 years old, Kevorkian is finally free from prison and has shown some signs of slowing down, no longer in the news and contented to live the rest of his life out of the lights of the press, his legacy is as obvious as it will continue to be controversial. Non-active euthanasia is currently legal in Oregon, Washington and Montana, while New Hampshire is considering a bill on assisted suicide.

'You Don't Know Jack' can be seen on HBO now.