You Don't Know Jack (2010)

It is easy to loose sight of the fact that there are some good films that go straight to television or straight to dvd. We get wrapped up in films that gross at the box office and become eligible for Oscars, etc. A good way to keep an eye out for these films is to check out the Golden Globe and Emmy category of "Made for Television Movies." They usually feature stars you are familiar with, and subject matter that for whatever reason the studios didn't think would make money [rom.com's and action films...].

This film won the Golden Globe in this category last year, and lost to Temple Grandin [another HBO film, but starring Claire Danes] for the Emmy. The film is a biography of Jack Kevorkian [Al Pacino], and includes John Goodman as his assistant, and Susan Sarandon as a friend.

The film starts at a point where Jack is already a retired doctor, he has spent many years watching people wither away in hospital beds in great pain and fully believes that doctors should be allowed to end patients lives upon their request. Now Jack is a man who likes attention and flirts with pushing the limits of the legality of euthanasia. Rather than fight to get the law changed, he chooses to break it, proves it is unjust, and change it through favorable court rulings. Some may say this is a ridiculous method, but it drew attention, worked favorable for him many times, and did create change.

It is not an easy subject matter, and the acting in this is fantastic. It is a view point of a man you probably have been told is crazy, and maybe he was. Regardless of how you feel on the subject this film will really make you think. Probably a top 10 of the year for me.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132623/

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