YOU DON’T KNOW JACK

“You Don’t Know Jack” tells the story about Dr. Kevorkian we should already know. Taking place from approximately 1990-1999, the film takes us from Kevorkian’s days of being an unemployed physician to the trial that brought an end to his morally questionable practice for good. The lighting throughout this film is dark and often times dreary, but never dull thanks foremost to an impressive performance by Al Pacino that may be his best since “Scent of a Woman”. When watching this film, there was rarely a moment where I thought to myself, “That’s Al Pacino playing Dr. Kevorkian”. Pacino’s signature eyes and husky voice are still ever present, but he disappears into his role so effectively that I found myself saying, “That is Dr. Kevorkian”. Not only is that feat so hard to accomplish for an actor so iconic as Pacino, but it’s also hard to play someone who most of the American public knew so well from being on TV all the time.

The sense of sincerity and conviction which Pacino gives the role could make it rather uncomfortable viewing if you disagree outright. But this intense, yet sidelong glance at a deeply polarising topic, seriously tackled but deftly relieved with a sharp witty screenplay, might just give new life to a debate that suffers from political hubris set against rather static public opinion. You Don’t Know Jack reveals a person a long way from popular conceptions. Even if you read his autobiography and see him in interview, as I have, he was and still is, a hard person to fathom. An egocentric – or to use a word he suggested himself – a zealot – it often seems that Kevorkian believes in himself to the point of being inaccessible. “You’re gonna need some business cards you know!” chides his sister. For this driven man who is happy to live on a pittance and then go on hunger strike, the importance of such details can, it seems, easily be missed.

The DVD comes with an in-depth featurette about The Real Jack and the behind-the-scenes work on the film. The A/V Quality is strong enough for standard definition, but it lacks the punch of the HBO HD broadcast. The Dolby track is supportive, but it lacks any real rear audio channel support. If you’ve managed to miss the release on HBO, then there’s no excuse to pass it up. There’s a reason why Al Pacino won the Emmy and you’d be crazy to miss Pacino’s return to real acting.