William Hurt makes every movie he's in intrinsically watchable. No matter the range of subjects or characters he's played, next to "The Accidental Tourist," the sarcastic doctor who shuns emotion to his patients in "The Doctor" is a tour-de-force. Hurt stands out because he underplays so beautifully that every variation of his doctor character coming to grips with his profession truly makes its mark.
Dr. Jack McKee (Hurt) is a brain and lung surgeon who sings along to Jimmy Buffett songs while doing open-heart surgery. The doctor is hardly stoic - he is lively in his manner, encouraging everyone to sing especially one of the reluctant nurses. Jack is married to Anne (Christine Lahti, also nicely underplaying) and they have a son who never sees much of his father. Jack is forgetful of his son's PTA meetings and Anne tries her best to be understanding - their love is genuine with the only real crisis being the renovation of a kitchen that Jack desires. Jack and Anne can laugh together yet Jack is resists engaging in honest talk without cracking a joke. The same is true of his several patients, one of whom is concerned over surgical scars and all he can say is, "Tell your husband you look like a Playboy centerfold, and you have the staples to prove it." He is not callous exactly, he just has to feign callousness through sharp-tongued humor that is not always appreciated.
But then sickness enters McKee's life when a malignant tumor is found in his throat. An ENT specialist (Wendy Crewson), Dr. Abbott (who shows complete indifference), diagnoses him and McKee starts to notice what he never noticed before. He is now a patient in his own hospital and is seeing how doctors are not always present, paperwork is not always ready to be filled out, there is some red tape around test results, and so on. Doctors don't show much emotion to him despite being a surgeon in his own hospital - his job status doesn't entitle to him to any privileges including not using a wheelchair which every other patient must use.
Jack also sees how his tumor can cause changes in his own life, including seeing how others suffer. He has kept his eyes and his emotions shut off for too long, using humor as his tonic. June (a dazzling Elizabeth Perkins) has a brain tumor and is put off by Jack's consistent arguing with the hospital staff. Eventually Jack clings to June since they both don't know when is their potential expiration date. June's prognosis is more severe and Jack connects with her - her anger where it almost lead to her jumping off a roof when discovering she had cancer until she saw a pigeon strangely looking at her is quite the revelation.
Superlatively directed with care and sensitivity by Randa Haines ("Children of a Lesser God"), "The Doctor" also shows Jack's seemingly rocky marriage to Anne and he hides when he could talk to her, or he hides through angry tirades and cracking jokes (the latter is true with his patients). When his tumor is removed and part of his vocal chords, there is a tremendously overpowering scene where Jack sees only love around him, indulging in it, and embraces Anne who is in tears and is reminded of his tenderness. The moment reminds Jack of the glorious dance he had with June in the desert. This is one of those glorious sentimental films where every emotion is earned and felt through your body. It further establishes William Hurt as one of the premier actors of this or any generation.
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