Themes: Work Ethics, Doctors and Patients, Redemption
Main Cast: William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins, Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 125 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A doctor finds out the hard way that there's more to medicine than skill in the operating theater in this emotional drama. Jack McKee (William Hurt) is a gifted but arrogant surgeon who cares little about the emotional welfare of his patients and is little more than a benign stranger to his wife Anne (Christine Lahti) and his son Nicky (Charlie Korsmo). Jack has been suffering from a nagging cough for some time, and when he begins coughing up blood one morning, he finally allows another doctor to take a look at him. The doctor discovers that Jack has a malignant tumor in his throat that could rob him of the ability to speak, or even kill him. Suddenly, Jack is a patient instead of a doctor, and he learns first hand about the long stretches in the waiting room, the indignity of filling out pointless forms, and the callous attitude of the professional medical community. Jack also gets to know June (Elizabeth Perkins), a terminal cancer patient whose joyous embrace of life as her time draws to a close is an inspiration to him. Restored to health, Jack is determined to be a more caring healer and strives to be a better husband and father, but his new lease on life also earns him an enemy in fellow surgeon Murray (Mandy Patinkin), who wants Jack to lie under oath for him in a major malpractice case; and a new respect for Eli (Alan Arkin), an ear-nose-throat man he used to ridicule for his empathetic treatment of his patients. The Doctor was based on the memoir of real-life surgeon Ed Rosenbaum, entitled "A Taste of My Own Medicine." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A touching real-life memoir becomes this powerful drama that reunites Children of a Lesser God director Randa Haines and star William Hurt. Always excelling in the role of a detached intellectual, Hurt gives one of his best performances as a surgeon whose cold aloofness puts a new spin on the word "clinician," until a life-altering health crisis reorients his perspective. Christine Lahti matches Hurt blow for blow as the doctor's embittered, angry wife, and Adam Arkin brings welcome, subtle shadings to his role of a kind and compassionate physician (Arkin's delightful creative choice is to play the man as if he knows he's considered a simpleton by his peers). Other supporting players such as Elizabeth Perkins and Mandy Patinkin are not so lucky, portraying characters that border on the clichéd, the only sour notes in an otherwise masterful, penetrating piece of filmmaking that actually has something vital to say about modern-day existence. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Charlie Korsmo - Nicky; Wendy Crewson - Leslie Abbott; Bill Macy - Al Cade; J.E. Freeman - Ralph; William Marquez - Mr. Maris; Kyle Secor - Alan; Nicole Orth-Pallavicini - Sarah; Tony Dean Fields - Roger; Brian Markinson - Michael; Maria Tirabassi - Lonnie; Akuyoe - June's Nurse; Woodryan Alexander - O.R. Nurse; Brandyn Artis - Nurse Jane; Fran Bennett - Admissions Secretary; Jusak Bernhard - Record Clerk; Rosa Maria Briz - Mrs. Maris's Mother; Matthew T. Clancy - Doctor in Hallway; Ross Eto - 1st MRI Tech; Nicholas Frangakis - Priest; Breon Gorman - Joey's Mother; Karen S. Gregan - Dr. Abbot's Receptionist; Steven Gundry - Heart Transplant Surgeon; Denis Heames - Young Patient; Gregor Hesse - Max; Lillian Hurst - Mrs. Maris; Bruce Jarchow - Tim; John Marshall Jones - Anthony; Jonathan Kohl - Anesthesiologist; Laurie Latham - Kristin; Zoaunne Le Roy - Ward Nurse; Nellye Leonard - Nancy; Ken Lerner - Pete; Susan Schelling Long - Operating Room Nurse; Lily Mariye - Operating Room Nurse; Cynthia Mason - Barbara; Zakes Mokae; Stephen Moore - Dominic; Gail Neely - Operating Room Nurse; Michael O'Dwyer - Builder; Nancy Parsons - Laurie; Jeris Poindexter - Doctor in Hallway; Keith Polk - Joe; Sue Rihr - Shirley; Susan Schelling - O.R. Nurse; Millie Slavin - Carrie; Lynn Stalmaster; Derek Van Longshore - Orderly; Renee Victor - Lucy; Ping Wu - Jay-Jay; Adam Wylie - Joey; Richard McKenzie - Mr. Richards; John Miller - Mr. Richards
Credit
William Joseph Durrell, Jr. - Art Director, Gary Fettis - Art Director, Michael S. Glick - Co-producer, Joe Tompkins - Costume Designer, Dennis P. Maguire - First Assistant Director, Randa Haines - Director, Lisa Fruchtman - Editor, Bruce Green - Editor, Michael Convertino - Composer (Music Score), Leonard Engelman - Makeup, Matthew Mungle - Makeup, Ken Adam - Production Designer, Michael S. Glick - Production Designer, John Seale - Cinematographer, Michael S. Glick - Production Manager, Ed Feldman - Producer, Laura Ziskin - Producer, Gary Fettis - Set Designer, Frank Ceglia - Special Effects, Robert Caswell - Screenwriter, Anthony Minghella - Screenwriter, Edward E. Rosenbaum - Book Author
The Doctor is a 1991Americanfilm directed by Randa Haines and starring William Hurt as a doctor who undergoes a transformation in his views about life, illness and human relationships. It is loosely based on the book A Taste Of My Own Medicine by Dr. Edward E. Rosenbaum.
Dr. Jack MacKee (William Hurt) is a successful surgeon at a leading hospital. He and his wife have all the trappings of success and generally lead a comfortable life, although Jack works such long hours that he rarely has time to see their son and has become somewhat emotionally detached from his wife. His "bedside manner" with his patients, who are in many cases seriously ill, is also quite lacking.
One day while on a drive home from a dinner party, Jack has a coughing fit. His wife is shocked when he coughs up blood particles all over her and the car. In an examination, Jack has a sample of a growth removed from his throat. The biopsy comes back positive for cancer.
He then experiences life as a patient, including the coldness and detachment of hospitals, some doctors, and his own colleagues. He begins to empathize with patients, which is a new experience for him. He befriends June Ellis, a fellow cancer patient who has an inoperable brain tumour.
Although Jack's cancer is treated and cured, June dies. The experience changes Jack forever. When he returns to work, he begins to teach his new medical interns about the importance of showing compassion and sensitivity towards their patients, which in turn will make them better doctors.
Adam Arkin and Mandy Patinkin went on to play doctors (neurosurgeon Aaron Shutt and cardiothoracic surgeon Jeffrey Geiger, respectively) in the David E. Kelley series "Chicago Hope", and were joined in later seasons by Christine Lahti (Dr. Kate Austin).
