regysearcher
i remember running into this film several times on TV but i've never actually watched it entirely until now. the movie is a very convincing plead for death. a man who argues with himself because nobody around him knows how to listen. very smart lines, a genuine Richard Dreyfuss, very intelligent (though sometimes dark) humor. i won't tell you more not to spoil the fun. a similar story (which now i think this movie inspired) you'll find in Alejandro amenabar's "mar adentro".since you find a lot of hollywoodian crap movies "flagged" 7.7 like "lucky number slevin" for example (which i think is a f...g aberation - who votes for these anyway? 4 votes at most not to consider the acting which is a total failure) i'd give this an 8 out of 10.it'll get you questioning about human reactions in desperate cases. i dearly recommend it to whoever hesitates seeing it and runs into this comment.
The_Core
This film could have been great, except for some serious scripting and characterization problems. Many of the characters are stereotypical, wafer-thin portrayals, particularly the head doctor who wants to keep Dreyfuss's character alive. The "party scene in the hospital basement" is not only cliched, but nobody got fired or got in trouble (the Jamaican nurse in particular) for smoking dope in a hospital, and taking a quadraplegic patient out of their bed without permission in the middle of the night? Give me a break! Finally, Dreyfuss's decision to "remain in the hospital to die" at the end... the judge's ruling was specifically that he be released (writ of Habeus Corpus), not that he be allowed to die without treatment in the hospital!These serious problems (particularly the latter, where he decides to stay in the hospital) just about ruin the film for me. Never mind that there's never much of a real sense of suspense or genuine emotion here, and everything plays far too liberally off (melo)drama generated by the Dreyfuss character's decision. I'll give it 6/10, and I feel like I'm being generous. Comes dangerously close to trivializing the issues portrayed in the film, and occasionally crosses the line... if it weren't for much more honest films with subject matter just as difficult (like "Dead Man Walking") I might be more forgiving and just chalk it up to the best Hollywood can do with this sort of material, but I know better.
lodai
Ever since my first viewing of this wonderful movie, I have watched it many times. I to this day am not tired of it. I find it to very funny, moving, and an incredible tear jerker. I love this movie and am proud to say that it is definitely one of, if not my all time favorite movie.
Thomas Nielsen
This thought provoking and philosophically painful. Most people have an opinion on euthanasia and how they would react should they end up helplessly crippled and so does Ken Harrison in this movie. But do we really mean what we say? What is really special about this movie is that it does not take a stand at the end. It lets us wonder. Does he actually change his mind as the good doctor suggests he might?I for one, dread a decision like this one.
AD
