Kevorkian (2010) Reviews

• If You Still Didn't Know Jack, You Know Him Well Now

  bobbylabonte182010-07-02

  In "Kevorkian", they profile Dr. Jack Kevorkian a.k.a Dr. Death who is known for practicing Doctor assisted suicide. This profile shows his life after parole and his 2008 run for the Congress seat in Michigan. He shows himself as a man of strong opinions and stances. With this he intends to show people the power of the 9th Admendment and it's power to the people's rights. He has always been in my opinion on the good side of the fence and personally stand by his views but I think people will take a new stance and believe what Dr. Kevorkian was intending to do and that was to bring peace to many who were deathly ill and wanted release. Overall, the director, interview persons and Kevorkian himself keep this project a must see for all haters and believers in this man's vision.

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• The REAL Kevorkian

  dzlz1052010-07-01

  I saw "Kevorkian" shortly after viewing the bio-pic starring Al Pacino. This was much better! For one thing, I hated Pacino's attempt to sound like Kevorkian. But, more importantly, the fictional production had too much in it -- it had too much self-conscious characterization of too many characters, lingered on scenes that were peripheral and had too much of a story arc. In other words, it screamed "fiction." The documentary centers on a short period in Kevorkian's life: the year or so after his release from prison, when he ran for US Congress. There also is considerable footage from his final trial, as well as very short clips from the videos he made of the horribly suffering people who begged for his help in ending their lives. Because of the more limited focus of the documentary, the viewer gets a clear picture of Kevorkian's contradictory character. The man is highly creative, with a long history of inventing usable gadgets, writing not-bad music, painting expressionist-style (though morbid) oil paintings, and even producing a movie. However, his people skills come and go, to the detriment of his medical career, his friendships and his quixotic campaign for Congress. The scene in which he throws a supporter out of a campaign informational meeting is priceless. And he is ultimately naive and guileless. As his long-time lawyer Geoffrey Feiger points out in one of his numerous interviews during this film, his client's grasp of the legal process seems to get worse, not better, over the course of many run-ins with the law. I winced when I saw the scenes of Kevorkian at his final trial, in which he was found guilty of murder in the death of Thomas Youk. He had fired Feiger (who remains his friend)and eventually decided to defend himself. It is easy to believe that the former pathologist wanted to go to jail, by the inept way he handled the trial. Finally, as a resident of southeast Michigan, I enjoyed picking out people I know either personally or from news reports, including not only Feiger, but also physician Stan Levy, highly articulate journalist Jack Lessenberry, Judge Jessica Cooper, TV reporter Roger Weber, Rabbi Tamara Kolton and others.

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• Kevorkian Just Wants to Let Go **1/2

  edwagreen2010-08-03

  Interesting, but depressing documentary dealing with an extremely difficult subject-the termination of life. At first, I thought that Dr. Kevorkian was a man for all seasons, dedicated to his profession and his belief to know when to end intense suffering. However, as the documentary went on, I realized that the man is totally obsessed with death. He seems to have been like this from childhood. Unfortunately, he saw his mother waste away from cancer. Going on 60 minutes allowed for Dr. Kevorkian to get what he wanted-a public trial and debate on ending life. Now 82 or 83, he is seeking a seat in Congress so that his views can be aired. In reality, will this be his only campaign issue. People will not elect him solely on this, but he will be most likely rejected for his one-issue stance on mercy killing. Let's do the same for this documentary.

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