Review of You Don't Know Jack (2010) by Shashank S — 29 Apr 2010

I don't know much about 'Dr. Death', besides what I remember of the media buzz surrounding his unique profession. But I think that helped in the case of this movie. A biopic is a way to present a person's life in a way people can find entertaining, inspiring, or disturbing, depending on who the pic is about. But also informational. The movie in this case was more enjoyable because most of the things presented in it are thing's I didn't know.

The other thing that made this such a great movie was Al Pacino's charismatic performance as Kevorkian. Even the unique Fargo-ish accent is done without flaw and never wavers for the entirety of the movie. And of course Danny Huston and John Goodman's acting talents are welcome pluses in any movie.

The movie isn't flashy. It doesn't need to be. It's telling a story in which visual flair would make no sense.

The filmmakers are definitely sympathizing with Kevorkian rather than condemning him here and regardless of your views on what he was doing, you'll find it hard not to feel sorry for him at at least some point.

This probably isn't a movie I'll revisit too much, or feel the need to buy when it comes out. It's a fantastic movie, but a very somber one and a very sad one in regards to the people who seek out Kevorkian's help for their various reasons. It's an element of the movie that weighed me down.