The Doctor Details

William Hurt stars as a glib, egotistical doctor who's forced to re-appraise his life when he's diagnosed as suffering from cancer. When the tables are turned and he becomes a patient, he begins to realise the shortcomings of his profession. As moral issues come under the microscope (a rare enough event in Hollywood), Hurt makes a credible transition from blunt medical hard-nut to “born again” doctor with a conscience, and the probing script and first-class performances (from Hurt and Elizabeth Perkins as a fellow patient) prevent this harrowing drama from becoming an empty exercise in Hollywood schmaltz.

Reunited five years after Children of a Lesser God, Haines and Hurt are trapped here by a trite, predictable script.... read more on Time Out