ABSTRACT
Neurologic disease invites cinematic treatment of commonly encountered bioethical concerns. As expected, the interest of screenwriters is piqued by major topics such as euthanasia in devastating neurologic disease, brain death, and organ donation. In An Act of Murder there is a “mercy killing” when a brain tumor causes unbearable pain. In this film, the patient is killed in a car crash caused by her lover in an attempt to end it all. Ethics in film also may involve the compassionate care of neurologic patients. The film accurately depicts the ethical discussion taking place in the early 1980s and considers the competency of sick or injured patients to refuse medical treatment. The Descendants has many plot elements and is multilayered, but in essence, the premise is quite simple: this is a film about withdrawal of care in a futile situation. The ethics of organ donation are all over the place in film.
