Jack

Whether or not you liked Jack Layton --- and I didn't, particularly --- this is an amazingly well done portrait of the man and his career. Rick Roberts has captured Layton's persona brilliantly, both the older Layton who led the NDP and the horn rimmmed, shirtsleeved firebrand in his days on Toronto council. It becomes a little overwrought towards the end as Layton succumbs to his cancer. And there is the odd moment where one expects a halo to pop up over Layton's head. But on the whole, it is an excellent package with brilliant acting and some innovative camera work. They have made very effective use of TV clips (all from the CBC, of course. But it would have been nice to have seen some other media as well.)This is the sort of thing the CBC is supposed to be doing and they did it very well. It becomes a worthy shelf mate of excellent earlier films about Pierre Trudeau, Tommy Douglas and Rene Levesque.