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Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, Danny Huston, Brenda Vaccaro, John Goodman ... see more see more... , Deirdre O'Connell , Todd Susman , Adam Mucci , Allen Lewis Rickman , Delaney Williams , Eric Lange , Peter Conboy , James Urbaniak

Al Pacino stars as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in director Barry Levinson's made-for-HBO biopic tracing the controversial career of the outspoken assisted suicide advocate/activist. Convinced that "dying is no... read more read more...t a crime," Dr. Kevorkian (aka Dr. Death) creates a machine that allows terminally-ill medical patients to end their own lives in a peaceful, humane manner. When Dr. Kevorkian is forced to defend his philosophy and practices in court, a media firestorm erupts over a patient's right to die. Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, and Danny Huston star in a film produced by Scott Ferguson (The People vs. Larry Flint, Brokeback Mountain), and written by Adam Mazer (Breach). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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2,905 ratings

Unrated, 2 hr. 14 min.

Directed by: Barry Levinson

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DVD Release Date: October 26, 2010

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Flixster Reviews (584)

  • DouglasWCollins
    December 29, 2011
    DouglasWCollins
    I love Pacino, but I could not get through this crap.
  • fb100000257973100
    December 21, 2010
    fb100000257973100
    One of the beauty's of this film is that it does question one very important topic: If someone wants to die, should they be allowed to? Well, Jack Kevorkian thinks so if it is the pacients choice in the matter by offering assisstant suicide. Al Pacino give a performance, playing ... read morethe doctor, so much power that you really think that this is the actual man playing himself, and not some actor. The direction of the film, along with the script and acting, is beyond powerful. The only downfall is that the score was uninspiring. Most of the time, you do not notice the score and when you hear it, it is not that good. But, the others are so good that this film is required. I recommend this film if you are into biopics, love films that are about people that challenged the law, and above all else, want to see a powerful performance from Pacino.
  • imrealgod
    December 16, 2010
    imrealgod
    Euthanasia (aka 'mercy killing') has been a debatable issue for quite a long time & I guess it will remain so. There are some people in its favor & most people against it. When someone applies for it, that person doesn't do it for fun or to have a novel experience (there may be e... read morexceptions here: like some fool doing so for gaining attention). They do so because their pain has become unbearable & there's no cure available for it. If there are two persons suffering from Quadriplegia & one of 'em asks for euthanasia while other one makes no such demand, people usually say that if the other can survive, why not the other. They forget that everyone don't have same capabilities. It's easier to say that if you try, you can also survive like the others. But they fail to understand that that person would have done so if he/she too was capable for it (to suffer the pain). One mostly asks for it when their pain has gone beyond their suffering limit & there seems to be no hope of cure whatsoever (however, as mentioned above, there are exceptional cases).

    The movie focuses on this issue & shows why it's not bad. In a way, I felt that it was biased. It is shown from the viewpoint of Dr. Jack Kevorkian & it hardly takes opposer's (those who are against Euthanasia) opinion into consideration. While being in favor of euthanasia myself, I'd have liked the movie more had they left it to the viewer to decide whether it's good or bad, & not shown more pros than the cons of euthanasia. For most of the part, if not all, the movie portrays Dr. Jack Kevorkian as a hero. That's another thing I didn't like about the movie. However, if real Dr. Jack Kevorkian was the same as the character Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the movie, I bow to him.

    Al Pacino fluently played the role of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The rest of the cast is also impressive. Check it out if if, like me, you're also interested in 'Euthanasia' & movies based on actual events.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 13, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Ok, not an Al Pacino fan really. What drew me to this movie was the fact that I have always believed in what Dr. Kevorkian stood for. I deal with very sick patients every day, and I absolutely understand the euthanasia issue. I completely believe in the right to choose whether to... read more live or to die. I hope this issue is resolved by the time I need it, because I would choose NOT to suffer terribly for years. To me that is the inhuman part of our system. On a lighter note, Al Pacino did a knock up job! I will be surprised if he isn't nominated for something for doing this film.
  • Screeny
    August 27, 2010
    Screeny
    Its Al Pacino's performence that makes this movie worth watching. The story itself is interesting but in the end its hard to come up with weather you like this or not.
  • paulsandberg
    July 27, 2010
    paulsandberg
    Perhaps because I am in agreement with Kevorkian's pro euthanasia stance, I found the film very true, heartwrenching and very much NOT macabre.
    Certainly there are ramifications of his right-to-die stance, but they are legal ones, and in my view, not moral ones.

    But subject... read more matter aside, this is a sterling production. Barry Levinson aptly balances the turmoil and the humanity, with re-creations of Kevorkian's "death interviews" wherein those suffering from terminal, and often very painfull illnesses ask for the suffering to end.

    Pacino is brilliant as the somewhat wacky, but very astute Kevorkian; an older "retired" physician who champions the right to die with dignity at a time of your own choosing. Trying to thwart him is a politician who is a religious zealot, seeing Kevorkian as a sinner, murderer and, as most physicians seem to do, be playing God.

    As I watched the film I was worried that the script might be too pro right to die, and that perhaps the naysayers were too black and white, but then considered that the religious right probably wouldn't be watching this anyway, so the portrayal wouldn't offend.

    I can't say enough about the casting and acting in this film. The always fantastic and very human John Goodman should be mentioned, as well as yet another solid perfomance from Susan Surandon; and equally excellent as Kevorkian's sister is Brenda Vaccaro - yes Brenda Vaccaro! Where has she been and why hasn't she been on screen more often?

    In an almost throwaway scene that I thought very telling, Vaccaro gets fired from her secretarial position at a law firm for no other reason than her name. Freakin' amazing - I would have sued 'em six ways to Sunday. Would Charlie Manson's sister have received the same treatment? Yikes!

    There's much more to this film than the subject matter, including some political posturing, some appropriate humor, and tons of humanity on display, both good and bad. There are court scenes where I swear Pacino was ready to yell "you're out of order", but stayed in the quirky, eccentric, yet passionate charactor he created - there were times when I thought Pacino's Kevorkian was channeling Woody Allen circa "Annie Hall"; all bumbling and tongue-tied, yet with a burning passion and conviction to get the government to fully separate church and state. The entire issue was so much of a hot button topic that the supreme court refused to hear his case, not wanting to step into what would assuredly have been a monumental can of worms.

    So here we are, 30 years later, with the insurance companies and the church still dictating when and how a person may end their life. It's sad that Kevorkian's campaign ultimately failed, for I know I certainly wouldn't want to be the victim of a debilitating and painful illness (say Lou Gehrig's disease) and be denied the right to choose how I'm going to live my final days.

    Arrgh - you see, you might think that this really has nothing to do with the film, but the subject matter has me all keyed up - so the film must have indeed fulfilled its goal to inform and entertain.
  • mjgildea
    May 12, 2010
    mjgildea
    With You Don't Know Jack, Al Pacino does something he hasn't done in decades -- HE ACTS! It's a great biopic of Dr. Jack Kevorkian wonderfully directed by Barry Levinson. They seem to go a little out of their way to tell a one-sided story under the guise of Kevorkian's point of v... read moreiew but it I wanted to get into a moral or legal argument I wouldn't have made it through the whole movie. The cast is great and the scene where Kevorkian tells the zealots his god wasn't invented was hysterical. You Don't Know Jack definitely has me thinking twice about dismissing made for cable movies.
  • DrZeek
    April 26, 2010
    DrZeek
    Dr. Jack Kevorkian: If they want to silence me, let them prosecute me. Send me to jail.

    A well made, made-for-HBO biopic about the infamous career of Dr. Jack Kavorkian. An A-list team headed by director Barry Levinson and starring Al Pacino, doing his best work in years, the ... read morefilm does a good job at presenting this obscure figure in history, even if the film strays towards a one-sided argument in favor of Dr. Death.

    Set mostly in his home state of Michigan, the movie chronicles Jack Kevorkian's life through the 1990s, after he had already committed himself to using his self-devised "Mercitron" to end the lives of those seeking his assistance as opposed to taking people off life support, a process that he deems "inhumane." Jack, played by Pacino, is joined in his practice by his sister, played quite well by Brenda Vaccaro, his friend and sometime collaborate Neal, played by John Goodman, a vocal activist Janet Good, played by Susan Surandon, and a big shot defense attorney played by Danny Huston in a wig. I also enjoyed seeing Dr. Venture playing a journalist for the New York Times.

    The film portrays Jack's efforts to go through his procedures, which includes video taped recordings of the people who wished to be assisted in their deaths (some of which were the actual recordings) along with his appearances on 60 Minutes and with Barbara Walters, and his trials against the various legal parties trying to stop him. The film does end with the Doc K. defending himself in court against counts of murder after continuing to challenge the system by recording his actual assist in death and showing it on television, after previously having the patients "pull the plug," so to speak, themselves.

    This is certainly the type of film HBO is appropriate for as a debut outlet. Similar to the also very good film Recount, this film isn't really the type that can be successfully put into theaters, but the subject matter is interesting enough that it should be told in someway, and its well done here, which is due to the talent involved.

    Pacino is great here. Dialing down from being crazy Al Pacino with wild speech patterns and hair, here he is adopting a specific character, with a midwestern accent, quirky and darkly comedic sensabilities, and most importantly, a sincere attitude and regard for what he is doing. Despite whatever differing opinions there may be on euthanasia, Kavorkian is never portrayed as a man who jokes about death, he is wholly devoted to his cause, and only towards the end giving us a peak at the deeper places of where his mindset stems from.

    There are solid supporting performances here from the supporting cast as well. You can always rely on Goodman for solid chemistry with whomever he is cast with. Surandon and Huston are quite effective. It really comes down to Vaccaro who has to face up to Pacino the most on different emotional levels.

    Levinson's direction is strong enough, with he and his crew seeming to work hard at channeling Gus Van Sant's Milk from the way it is constructed in tone. The blending of some archival footage into the film is effective, and the conveying of time passage is handled well enough with a few time stamps, and more importantly - a numbering of each of Dr K.'s patients.

    The only real problem is how much of a hero to make Jack. The movie clearly argures strongly in favor of him, and while not putting my own opinions on the film in either side, the film could have benefited more from a bit fairer shake on the side striking against him.

    Still, very interesting overall, and well acted, especially for Pacino.

    Dr. Jack Kevorkian: What law have I broken?
  • gator681
    September 14, 2011
    gator681
    In "You Don't Know Jack," Dr. Jack Kervorkian(Al Pacino), a semi-retired pathologist, confides to his sister Margo(Brenda Vaccaro) that inspired by the needless agonies of their dying mother, his cause will be euthanasia. With a little help from his pal Neal(John Goodman), he ge... read morets the necessary supplies for his Mercitron but Janet Good(Susan Sarandon) of the Hemlock Society, having second thoughts about letting him use their property for his first patient, leads him to use his VW bus near a lake. Arrested, he is soon released but without his medical license and Dick Thompson(Cotter Smith) out to prosecute him. So, he quickly performs two more mercy killings before hiring Geofrey Feiger(Danny Huston), a lawyer.

    As much as I liked "You Don't Know Jack," it still seemed a little off to me, weirdly more tragicomic than emotional, considering the subject matter, as the filmmakers apparently had no idea what to do with Kervorkian the person, adding little to the public record. Here he is depicted as an eccentric and irascible presence who never felt he was wrong that Al Pacino nails along with an excellent Michigan accent.(To the movie's benefit, there are few pretty faces and the Big Boy's is a nice touch.) As far as the movie goes, he is the wrong man for the right cause which his actions did very little to help, despite the repeated poll numbers in favor of euthanasia. Added to that, the film has the American obsession of winning and losing, with too much time spent on the climactic trial. Personally, I think euthanasia should be permitted under very strict observation like it is in Oregon, so I have little appreciation for his cowboy tactics. But to his credit, Kervorkian stuck to the central tenets of civil disobedience by not fleeing to Canada when prosecuted which also makes his references to Gandhi and Dr. King less laughable. What made Kervorkian such a divisive figure was his willingness to get his hands dirty on a very difficult subject that most people do not want to think about, much less act on.
  • panta2
    January 17, 2012
    panta2
    It is a very controversial story about Jack Kevorkian, the doctor who spent eight years in jail for his role in assisting the terminally ill to commit suicide. It's supposed to be a "loose" adaptation of the book Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the ... read moreBattle to Legalize Euthanasia by Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie...( I believe it is hard for everyone to adapt a book with such a title).

    Al Pacino was brave enough to take on the role of Kevorkian, a friendly enough looking older fellow whose name has become synonymous with assisted suicide. Kevorkian created a device to assist the terminally ill in their own suicides - 130 of them - which earned him the nickname Dr. Death, eight years in jail, and a Time magazine cover. My opinion is that at moments this role was just TOO MUCH for Pacino - he tried too hard! When you compare it with the acting of Susan Sarandon and John Goodman, which were less complex roles - I admit that, at the time you can find yourself gasping for breath asking yourself - why? - he could do it more naturally... I am not sure that Dr. Kevorkian was most of the time "lost in space" like this movie is portraying him, but at least the director managed to show that he had a passion in whatever he was doing and a conviction that he is doing a right thing. He missed the opportunity to make this rather dark and heavy film at the moments, enriched with the real life Kevorkian - he was a jazz musician and composer (The Kevorkian Suite: A Very Still Life was a 1997 release CD). There was an attempt to add a smidge of levity and inappropriate humour, but I do not think it was too effective. At the end seems like a somewhat empathetic look at this controversial man.

    Interesting biopic- nothing more, nothing less - just a watchable Sunday afternoon film (with your older relatives).

View All You Don't Know Jack Reviews

Critic Reviews

Michael Phillips
April 26, 2010
Michael Phillips, At the Movies

This is Levinson's best work since Wag the Dog Full Review

A.O. Scott
April 26, 2010
A.O. Scott, At the Movies

You Don't Know Jack might make you uncomfortable, and it probably won't change your mind on the issue of euthanasia, but you should by all means see it. Full Review

Brian Orndorf
April 29, 2010
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com

Jack remains a disturbing, significant picture, expressing a mind and a purpose coldly silenced before it was ever truly understood...finding the shadows and the soapbox, Pacino is masterful in this u... Full Review

April 29, 2010
Newsday

Click to read the article Full Review

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  • Yes, we all know that Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. You don't need to post any more questions asking as such.  Answer »
  • Okay, I'm making this easy for you since most of you don't know jack about movies. In Toy Story, who says "to infinity and beyond"?   Answer »
  • The Shining Jack: "A party of settlers got snowbound in the mountains. They resorted to cannibalism in order to stay alive." Danny: "You mean they ate each other up?" Jack: "They had to, in order to survive." Wendy: "Jack..." Danny: "Don't worry, Mom. I know all about cannibalism. I..."  Answer »
  • Jack Nicholson movie quotes- guess which film this comes from: "Church wants you on your place. Kneel, stand, kneel, stand. If you go for that sort of thing, I don't know what to do for you. A man makes his own way. No one gives it to you. You have to take it. "Non serviam." "  Answer »
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