I have always found ethics in the medical field
interesting. What is right and wrong for a doctor to do when it comes to
treating a patient? The impact of the decisions made by a doctor is literally
life and death. For this reason alone, how can the medical field and what is
considered right and wrong in this field not be fascinating when the human condition
plays such a major role. A doctor and his
feelings are put on display in The Good
Doctor, this week’s Movie of the
Week. When Dr. Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom) takes a liking to one of his
patients his decisions regarding treatment becomes extremely questionable. As you’re
watching The Good Doctor, keep a
close eye on the behavior, background and encounters of Dr. Blake. How do these
aspects of the character make him come across? Is there anything right about what
he is doing? After this analysis of Dr. Blake, take film making into account.
Does the craftsmanship of the film get in the way of the character and
situation being convincing and compelling?
At first, Dr. Blake seems like a normal guy just trying to become the best doctor he can be, I preferred this to what follows. The power that doctors hold require them to be emotionally strong. Dr. Blake isn't, he is a weak and lonely soul. Nothing is right about what Blake does to that poor girl. He takes her life because of his own devious desires. The B-story of the girl's journal falling into the hands of the brash orderly was weak and predictable.
ReplyDeleteI liked the craftsmanship of the film, and the way the director makes us fill in the blanks in many places is a nice touch. It's great because it parallels the uncertainty of what is happening to us when we put our health in the hands of a doctor. Since we aren't trained in medicine, we just have to take the doctor's word for it. The family trusted the "good" doctor and it cost them their daughter. What other choice did they have? The circumstances in the film, Blake coming the the girl's house and tainting her medicine and then ensuring she doesn't get better afterwards, are implausible in the real world but the malpractice happens all the time. Nobody is perfect, and we can't expect doctor's to be.
J.K. Simmons must know everyone in Hollywood. That gets more than the rest of the cast combined.
Nobody is doing what Simmons is doing right now. He all over film and television. The problem is he is doing a lot of the same. It would be nice to see him do something a little more challenging. He has showed that he is true talent in films such as Juno (deserved a Oscar nomination and Up in the Air. Maybe even a leading role would be a nice change.
ReplyDeleteUnlike you, I never saw Dr. Blake as a normal guy. Due to Dr. Blake's behavior and his interaction with other hospital staff members, part of me thought that he was only posing as a doctor. This is probably a stretch but for a while I thought that this would be big reveal in the plot.
The more I think about the Dr. Blake's relationship with the patient, the more I feel like it works. I think that Daly and Enbom want Dr. Blake to come off as a somewhat of a monster or the opposite of a 'good' doctor. They accomplish this by making him emotionless (does htis make him emotionally strong). This is where I first had a problem with his relationship with the patient until he I figured out the films intentions. He never appeared to have authentic feelings for her or never really seemed to have it all together.
With that said though, I think a golden opportunity was missed. The story was very one note and the leading character needed more complexity. All supporting characters were extremely disposable. This story could have been much closer to reality, giving it a chilling but compelling feel.