The Doctor

This movie came out about a year before I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and I watched it during my recovery from surgery and radiation treatments. It helped me to understand the relationship between doctor and cancer patient. William Hurt is indeed excellent in this film, but I have always liked his understated presence and aloof yet empathetic evocations. Recently, a colleague was diagnosed with a serious cancer and he continues to undergo his treatments. I think the American medical community has made great improvements in the emotional component of care for cancer patients, but in 1992 Hurt's portrayal was close enough to echo my observations of how I was cared for then.

So, though it's a bit of a tearjerker and has a happy ending that reality will not always produce, I think it is a meaningful film and especially for those who are facing a serious diagnosis or caring for those who are.

The Doctor may not be the most moving, most influential, or best portrayed movie of all time, but it certainly should rank near the top of the best medical movies of all time. The story is about Dr. Jack MacKee (William Hurt), an arrogant heart surgeon whose believes that doctors should "Get in, fix it, and get out". However, when he finds himself diagnosed with cancer, he must see the system from the other side - a mechanized, unsympathetic system where the patient's comfort is the least concern. The story complicates when he befriends a fellow cancer patient, June Ellis (Elizabeth Perkins), who proves to be an inspirational figure in Jack's battle against cancer.

The movie could be deemed a transformation story. At first, Jack is an unlovable character - the doctor we all wish we didn't have. However, as he continues through his ordeal, his attitude begins to change. It is a profound change, and provides for many deep, moving scenes.

The story itself is not complicated, and is easy to follow. The acting, however, is top notch, and makes for a terrific movie. I would recommend it to anybody.

I was impressed and touched by the movie's theme. I've recommended the movie to friends and acquaintances and those that watch it are also moved.

When my wife was hospitalized for leukemia there was an intern who became impatient with my questions and concern. I couldn't help but think that "hey, someday you'll become a patient too. Let's see how you'll handle it."

They should have medical students watch this movie. We can become callous at times, that we forget to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person.

The movie shows that there are people that stay in our lives so briefly but leave warm and good impressions that last a lifetime.

The premise seemed a little too straightforward at first glance: Doctor becomes patient. But it is so well executed, you can't help but be drawn in. I kept suspecting it was going to turn sappy at any moment, but director Randa Haines does not hold back on the emotional awkwardness that comes from difficult situations. There is much less sentimentality than Haines' best-known film, Children of a Lesser God. And although Hurt is far less "charming" in this film than he was in that one, he actually is more watchable. The more difficult he becomes, the more interesting the film gets.

Another intriguing aspect of the film is the feelings Chritine Lahti's character experiences, from sympathy to anger, to jealousy, to feeling shut out, you name it. In fact, the film could have delved even deeper into their marital discord and it would not have lost me. For some this film may go down a little too easily, but I think the accessibility of the subject matter in this case is an asset.

San Francisco surgeon Jack McKee (William Hurt) has been a jerk his whole life. He never refers to his patients by their names and apparently never knows why they're in the hospital. In short, Jack's the opposite of Patch Adams. But then, he becomes a patient, and finds out what it's really like to be on the other side. Admittedly, this is sort of a cliché (and maybe sappy at times). But still, it's a good look at one man's change.

I will say that what Jack does at the end looked a little unrealistic; I doubt that he went that far in real life. But even so, I still say that the movie is worth seeing. Not a masterpiece by any stretch, but important. Also starring Christine Lahti, Charlie Korsmo, Mandy Patinkin and Adam Arkin.