Dr. Feelgood: Dealer or Healer?

2016

1h 21m

Documentary

List

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

48%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Dr. William Hurwitz was a preeminent doctor sentenced to 25 years in prison for overprescribing painkillers. His story provides a window into the ethical dilemma of opioid prescriptions. Painkillers give doctors tremendous power to relieve pain, a primary goal of any physician, but this power begets trouble when the same drugs can lead to addiction, abuse and death.

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Embracing a structure that implicitly acknowledges the complexity of the issue, Ms. Marson nevertheless contributes to the film's general fuzziness by failing to clarify the legal and moral guidelines that govern these kinds of prescriptions.

Dec 29, 2016

Full Review

Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

The documentary raises important and substantial questions about an issue that has only become increasingly relevant in recent years.

Dec 28, 2016

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

Variety

Marson's lively narrative employs a lot of diverse voices as well as a surprising amount of archival footage in telling a story that's ethically complex yet easy to follow. All tech and design contributions are nicely turned.

Dec 13, 2016

Full Review

Frank Lovece

Film Journal International

Compassionate yet well-balanced and highly human documentary about pain-management physician William Hurwitz.

Dec 29, 2016

Full Review

Jared Mobarak

The Film Stage

Marson puts the onus on her audience to look below the surface at the complexities of the case and the drug itself.

Rated: C+

Dec 29, 2016

Full Review

Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Provocative, accessible and refreshingly fair and balanced.

Rated: 9/10

Dec 29, 2016

Full Review

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Audience Member

Dr. Hurwitz was both. His greatest intention was a healer. However he was not as careful as he should have been with the quantity of opioids going out. He was the only physician who KNEW without a doubt his patients had PAIN that no one else wanted to touch ...Pain is so very personal and difficult to describe. But the ones to whom he had question, he should have sent them packing to allow him to continue his really good work for the really needy ones. I am one who has been a patient of a pain clinic. I see the same doc each visit. He is meticulous in jumping through every government hoop---teaches me same. (I am a registered nurse and have taught same to my patients.). Yet he teaches me as if I am some person who has never read a book in my life...and does so with dignity. A righteous calling, pain doctors....if they do it right.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fascinating and hugely relevant documentary for the current times. I find that documentaries usually seem biased one way or the other but this one simply presented the information and allowed the viewer to come to their own conclusions. Mainly, I would recommend this movie because I watched it about a week ago and it is still on my mind.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Eve Marson

Director

David Boodell

Writer

Sara Goldblatt

Writer

Eve Marson

Writer

Mark Monroe

Writer

Sara Goldblatt

Producer

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Synopsis

Dr. William Hurwitz was a preeminent doctor sentenced to 25 years in prison for overprescribing painkillers. His story provides a window into the ethical dilemma of opioid prescriptions. Painkillers give doctors tremendous power to relieve pain, a primary goal of any physician, but this power begets trouble when the same drugs can lead to addiction, abuse and death.

Director: Eve Marson
Producer: Alison Block, Timothy Poore
Screenwriter: David Boodell, Sara Goldblatt, Eve Marson, Mark Monroe
Production Co: Gravitas Ventures, Asylum Entertainment
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 31, 2017
Runtime: 1h 21m

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