The Good Doctor (2011) Reviews

• Quite good actually

  Thrill_KillZ2012-06-30

  Once you read the plot summation or have viewed the trailer you may think they have shown their hand with this but what unfolds is a much larger picture as the viewer is introduced to DR. Martin Blake. He is new at the hospital having just begun his residency there. Lonely, he seems to be an outsider, never having the girl or the attention he wants most. Until he is introduced to a new patient he will be in charge of named Diane. He & the 18 year old Diane seem to quickly forge a bond, a bond that Martin is determined to keep, thus he meddles with her medication & test results, keeping her there with him at the hospital. Don't let this fool you by any means, this is just the beginning for Martin, his downward spiral has just begun. I must say that Orlando Bloom did a superb job portraying Martin as a fragile loner desperate for more at any cost. Riley Keough, known for her previous role in The Runaways, also did a fine job as Diane. Overall this did a very good job of building suspense & keeping it going through to the end. My only complaint is that I would have liked it to go a bit further with the story, it seemed to wrap up too quickly & an extra fifteen minutes wouldn't have hurt. Still, it exceeded my expectations & recommend to anyone looking for a well acted solidly written suspenseful story. 8/10

• Physician Heal Thyself.

  rmax3048232013-09-15

  It's a movie for adults. There is no secret demonic conspiracy or medical cover-up or madman trying to spread a virus that will kill every man taller than he is. Instead we have an ordinary internist at a big hospital, the properly taciturn Orland Bloom, who becomes so attracted to a young woman who is his patient that he goes to extraordinary lengths to keep her in the hospital. His plan to keep her in the hospital succeeds, but her winding up in the morgue is extempore. Well, Bloom is a good doctor with an otherwise unimpeachable reputation and her death affects him deeply. Ridden with guilt, he's then approached by a vulgar orderly who has found the deceased's diary outlining much of what's been going on. The impertinent orderly, Michael Peña, demands a constant supply of dope from the doctor who, when he discovers that the supply must be unending, slips the arrogant underling a dose of KCN. That's potassium cyanide. I happen to remember it because late one night I released some of the gas when I worked in a tool and die shop, just out of curiosity. It didn't smell like almonds, but like peaches. The next day the boss carried on about the equipment somehow having gotten rustier overnight. I couldn't make out what other shenanigans the doc was up to. (By this time, his term of reference has been reduced in social value from "the good doctor" to "doctor" to just plain "doc".) Aside from the dope, I did notice him snatch a vial or two of something from the supply room, and he fiddled around the labels on some Petri plates -- a very naughty thing to do, as I recall. I don't claim to know much about medicine but I know what I like. At any rate, it was a relief to watch a movie in which no one's head gets twisted off, there is no high-speed pursuit ending in a cataclysm, and no half-caste zombies. Orlando Bloom is excellent in the role of the young, earnest, enthralled physician. He has all the expressiveness of a tax auditor. He takes his work and his ethics seriously. If only he hadn't fallen for that pretty blond, Riley Keough, with the woeful voice. She's not even phenomenally beautiful, but rather her appeal lies in the fact that she projects the trust, vulnerability, and innocence of a child. Rob Morrow is memorable in a small part. Lance Daly's direction is straightforward and allows us to see what's going on. The camera does not wobble, neither does it swish pan. There are, though, probably too many huge close ups for a movie made in this classic style. It is, after all, not a TV movie but a feature film designed to be seen in theaters, and who needs J. K. Simmons' head to be sixteen feet tall? Even the title is nicely apt: "the good doctor," ironic and yet descriptive. Bloom really IS a good doctor, except that he's responsible for one accidental death and one deliberate murder. Doctors always get away with murder. A good friend, who is a doctor, was always late for appointments because he was disorganized, but when he rushed into the examining room, the patiently waiting patient would apologize to HIM because he knew how busy doctors were. The rest of us aren't so lucky.

• Engrossing

  juin672013-07-03

  Working as a nurse in the medical field I have to say that this was one of the more realistic depictions of what the working environment is like. All the actors in this film did an excellent job portraying their roles with realism. There are, of course, some scenes that were not accurately depicted but overall the production of this movie was well done. Orlando Bloom surprised me, I had no idea he was this talented. I felt he did an excellent job conveying the moral conflicts that those in the medical field may experience. There were a few parts of the movie that I felt could have been further fleshed out but overall I enjoyed the movie and the performances.

• I'll Bet He Had His Fingers Crossed When He Took the Hippocratic Oath

  Chris_Pandolfi2012-08-31

  The irony of "The Good Doctor" is that its title character is anything but good. This would be Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom), a British medical student who has just transferred to a Los Angeles hospital to begin his residency. His initial scenes depict him as withdrawn from his colleagues and superiors, who aren't hostile but certainly don't go out of their way to make him feel welcome. There's even a slight incident involving a Hispanic patient who doesn't speak English and may or may not be allergic to penicillin. But for the most part, Blake is merely suffering from a bruised ego, believing he isn't getting the respect he deserves. We don't see the full extent of his rotten personality until he's introduced to a teenage girl named Diane Nixon (Riley Keough), who's suffering from a kidney infection. He quickly picks up on the fact that she's attracted to him and longs for his medical care. He's more than happy to oblige. It's not so much that he's attracted to her physically, even though she's indisputably beautiful; like a rapist, what he's really attracted to is the feeling of exerting power over someone vulnerable. Throughout the film, Diane is unaware of the ways in which Blake is manipulating her. This has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence on her part. She's merely young and naïve, having only her current adolescent relationship with a teenage boy as a frame of reference. She now believes her boyfriend is a jerk, and perhaps he is, although that doesn't much matter. What does matter is that this is something else Blake picks up on. He now has one less person standing between him and his patient. If he ever does try to interfere, Blake is well versed in all the medical rhetoric regarding visitors. Diane responds well to her antibiotic treatment, and in due time, she's well enough to be released. Surely Blake knew in the back of his mind that such a day would eventually come. But because his self esteem is dependent on being in control of others, he cannot accept her departure on an emotional level. Luck intervenes, allowing Blake to enter the Nixon residence twice. The first time is for a family dinner, Blake having been invited by Diane's father (Wade Williams) out of appreciation. Although Diane isn't present during his visit, the wheels in Blake's head start to turn. The second time is when he picks up a thank-you basket made by Diane's mother (Molly Price). This is when Blake takes action; he excuses himself to the bathroom, retrieves Diane's prescription of antibiotics from the medicine cabinet, and replaces the contents of the capsules with sugar from a packet. Inevitably, Diane ends up back in the hospital. This time around, Blake takes one extra step to ensure she will stay under his care for as long as possible, namely the discrete replacement of the contents of her antibiotic IV bag with pure saline. Obviously, this can only be done during the night shift; Diane is more likely to be asleep, and the floor is minimally staffed. It's at this point we're made more aware of an orderly named Jimmy (Michael Peña), who doesn't take his job seriously and yet is oddly observant of Blake's actions and behaviors. He will be the subject of the film's final act, although I cannot reveal why. You're probably thinking that I shouldn't bother keeping anything secret, as this review reads as if I've given away the entire film. You're wrong. Let it suffice to say that there's more to the plot that what I've described in excruciating detail. And what of the plot? Admittedly, it pushes the limits of plausibility, relying on the same conveniences, technicalities, and turns of events one would find in a detective story. The saving grace is that plot is not the film's real focus; this is primarily a character study, and a damn chilling one at that. Blake is a reprehensible human being, willing to violate every ethical standard of medicine just to inflate his ego, which is pathetically fragile. Nothing is known about his background, but then again, nothing needs to be known. That's because his actions in this one story speak for themselves. Although he's responsible for several unnerving moments, the single most frightening scene is the last one, for it asserts that some people are undeservedly lucky in life. Blake is an intriguing character and is closely examined. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of several side characters that are infrequently featured, inadequately developed, or both. These would include: Nurse Theresa (Taraji P. Henson), who spends most of the film asking about illegible handwriting on medical reports; Dr. Waylans (Rob Morrow), who's always asking Blake about how he's feeling, physically and emotionally; and a police detective (J.K. Simmons), who only appears during the final act and seems oddly detached. If you look at "The Good Doctor" from a technical standpoint, it is noticeably flawed. The thing is, I believe this film works on a purely emotional level. We don't like Blake, and yet we watch with helpless fascination as he cuts away any remaining threads of morality. I'll bet he had his fingers crossed when he took the Hippocratic Oath. -- Chris Pandolfi

• Not Perfect But The Performances Make It Worth Watching

  Michael_Elliott2012-08-30

  The Good Doctor (2011) *** (out of 4) Orlando Bloom plays Dr. Martin Blake, a man with a good job, a nice car, a fine apartment and he appears to have anything you'd want but he's actually quite lonely. He thinks he finds someone special in a young patient (Riley Keough) who is suffering from a kidney disease but soon the doctor's kindness turns to obsession. THE GOOD DOCTOR has gotten some fairly negative reviews but I think they were a bit unfair. Yes, if you're wanting a film that's going to explain everything to you then it's best to skip this one. In fact, we never really learn why Martin is so lonely, why he can't seem to connect with people and we really don't even get to know why he wants to be a doctor or why he becomes obsessed. This is one of those independent movies that wants to make the viewer do a lot of thinking and while it's not a complete success I still found the story compelling and the performances very good. Bloom was perfect in his role as the doctor and with the haircut and performance style I really couldn't help but think of Anthony Perkins in PSYCHO. The performance here certainly isn't legendary like that one but I found a lot of similarities between the characters. Bloom really does a great job at playing this lonely character and you believe it just by the sadness that his eyes carry. I always say that acting with your eyes can be the hardest thing to do yet Bloom gets so much across here. I also really liked Riley Keough in the role of the patient who forms this special bond with the doctor. The actors have some great chemistry together. Taraji P. Henson is excellent in her role as a nurse who doesn't get along with the doctor and we get nice support from Michael Pena and Rob Morrow. There are parts of the story that certainly don't work but I must admit that the film kept me on the edge of my seat because I was never quite certain where it was going to go or how everything was going to play out. I won't ruin the ending but I think it worked just fine but I'm sure everyone will take something different away from it.