When he develops a cancerous tumour in his throat and is forced to undergo radiation treatment and surgery, Dr. Jack Mackee (William Hurt) is singularly ill-prepared for the indignities and endless frustrations that beset him when he becomes an ordinary patient in his own hospital. Long accustomed to calling the shots and never one to display anything approaching compassion for his patients, Mackee's reversal of fortune and abrupt confrontation with a system as impassive and indifferent as his own bedside manner signals a wake-up call that, were it not for his illness, he would never have heard. It's a sobering experience that compels MacKee to re-examine and re-assess the counterintuitive work ethics that heretofore have informed his self-centred professional life. Based on Dr. Ed Rosenbaum's aptly-titled book, A Taste Of My Own Medicine, and adapted for the screen by Robert Caswell, The Doctor reteams director Randa Haines and William Hurt, who both scored kudos four years ago with their work on the excellent Children Of A Lesser God. The obvious rapport the pair shared on that film is in evidence here. As is often the case with films whose central conceit deals with a character's search for moral and spiritual betterment when confronted by a potential death sentence, The Doctor is not without its moments of sentimentality and mawkishness, but for the most part it remains thoughtful and consistently engaging thanks to Haines' firm narrative grasp and outstanding performances from Hurt, Christine Lahti and Elizabeth Perkins.
