I was a kid brought up in a Christian fundamentalist household when Jack Kevorkian was in the news so the issue of physician-assisted suicide was a no brainer. Euthanasia is wrong, and something associated with the Nazis. The line between murder and physician assisted suicide was a thin one used to diminish the worth and cost of caring for a disabled love one. As I got older, I realized that *gasp* Christians have different opinions about what is right and wrong and may ground those opinions in the Bible. I’m always revisiting and questioning my opinions. When it is time for me to be empathetic and reconsider opposing views, I watch movies about the topic as part of that process. I already saw The Sea Inside, which was good, but felt more like a tv movie, and now I have seen You Don’t Know Jack, which was cinematically magnificent, but actually a tv movie.
I loved You Don’t Know Jack. You Don’t Know Jack is about Jack Kevorkian’s life when he embarked on his crusade to help his patients commit suicide painlessly until the state found a way to stop him. You Don’t Know Jack depicts his personal and professional life. You Don’t Know Jack successfully executes and balances three genres: the biopic, the courtroom drama, and the medical drama. What distinguishes You Don’t Know Jack from other films is it uses actual video footage of patients who wanted Kevorkian’s services. There is no way that even a skeptical viewer could deny that most of these people chose this path. Whether or not Kevorkian’s method was the best or even the correct one is another matter.
Al Pacino plays the titular character, and I would watch Pacino in anything, which lately does not always equal a rewarding viewing experience (I’m talking about Misconduct). The entire cast of You Don’t Know Jack, including John Goodman, Danny Huston and Susan Sarandon, is renown, but the actors’ famous persona does not overwhelm the depiction of the characters. Brenda Vaccaro’s performance in You Don’t Know Jack stood out even among such a reputable cast. Each character feels quirky, but in a realistic way. They have financial problems. They have hobbies. They have family and friends. They are stubborn, flawed and humorous. What I really appreciated about You Don’t Know Jack was that it openly acknowledged each character’s apparent flaws while simultaneously showing the characters’ understated notable attributes. Sure the ambulance-chasing attorney is a fame whore, but he is also effective, charitable, caring and knowledgeable. Sure Kevorkian is a willful, self-sabotaging weirdo who went too far on occasion, but he is also an egalitarian motivated by empathy.
You Don’t Know Jack is a must see because of its balanced approach to most of the characters and its ability to create an entertaining movie on a serious subject.