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.
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.