You Don't Know Jack
Released : April 24 2010
Michigan's own Doctor Kevorkian (AKA Dr. Death) is portrayed by Al Pacino, in this stunning masterpiece directed by Barry Levinson (executive producer of Analyze That and Oz). If you haven't heard of Doctor Kevorkian your probably under 20, or just don't know shit all.
Kevorkian was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to Armenian parents. Kevorkian graduated from Pontiac Central High School with honors in 1945, at the age of 17. He then enrolled at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in 1952.[8][9] In the 1980s, Kevorkian wrote a series of articles for the German journal Medicine and Law that laid out his thinking on the ethics of euthanasia.
Kevorkian started advertising in Detroit newspapers in 1987 as a physician consultant for "death counseling". In 1991 the State of Michigan revoked Kevorkian's medical license and made it clear that given his actions, he was no longer permitted to practice medicine or to work with patients.[citation needed] Between 1990 and 1998, Kevorkian assisted in the deaths of nearly 100 terminally ill people, according to his lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. In each of the above mentioned cases, the individuals themselves allegedly took the final action which resulted in their own deaths. Kevorkian allegedly assisted only by attaching the individual to a euthanasia devicethat he had made. The individual then pushed a button which released the drugs or chemicals that would end his or her own life. Two deaths were assisted by means of a device which delivered the euthanizing drugs mechanically through an IV. Kevorkian called it a "Thanatron" (death machine). Other people were assisted by a device which employed a gas mask fed by a canister of carbon monoxide which was called "Mercitron" (mercy machine). This became necessary because Kevorkian's medical license had been revoked after the first two deaths, and he no longer had legal access to the substances required for the "Thanatron" (Wikipedia)
So yes the man wanted to help people die with dignity and they all called him a quack. This film covers the life of Kevorkian from the time he begins looking for patients and ends with his conviction by the Supreme Court. Pacino does an amazing job of portraying the eccentric doctor. I have to say, as a Pacino fan this has to be one of the best if not the best piece of work he has ever done. Susan Sarandon plays Janet Good, an advocate of the doctor as well John Goodman delivers a spot on performance portraying Neal Nicol a lab technician and assistant to Dr. Kevorkian.
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