“The Doctor” by Randa Haines (1991)

Movies directed by women

The Work of Randa Haines (2/6)

Good script, dialogues, direction, images
Excellent humor

Randa Haines’ first feature Children Of A Lesser God and her second feature The Doctor use an identical story structure: a male who is the best in his profession (surgeon, teacher) meets a woman (a terminal patient, a deaf young woman) who obliges him to step down from his professional ivory tower and discover another reality of his profession
The script could have given the opportunity to many interesting developments, but the movie focuses in the end on the personal lesson the male lead character learns, and forgets all the broader and more social aspects. A pity!

Cast: William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins
Director: Randa Haines
Writers: Ed Rosenbaum (book), Robert Caswell (screenplay)
Edited by Lisa Fruchtman, Bruce Green
Music by Michael Convertino
Photographed by John Seale