Extreme Measures
What would you do if you could cure cancer or AIDS? Would you do it if it came at the cost of killing someone you loved but saved the lives of the millions that had been afflicted with the disease? Those are the questions that Extreme Measures throws at the audience. The movie is very suspenseful and toys with the audience on who's working against the hero and who's trying to help him. But thankfully director Michael Apted stayed away from many of the boring cliches that so many thrillers like to use to explain themselves.
The movie stars Hugh Grant as Dr. Guy Luthan, a successful doctor waiting to get into NYU. One day, a patient, who came to the hospital naked and seemingly out of his mind, starts convulsing and seizuring. Guy does everything he can for the man, but the patient dies. Certain things about the patient stick out in Guy's mind (a silver hospital tag and an incision in his back) and he starts to investigate the whereabouts of the man. However, the body mysteriously vanishes, along with all its records.
Guy becomes very suspicious and begins to ask questions. But whenever he gets one question answered, another one comes up. Soon, Guy becomes confused, and so does the audience. Not because the story is hard to follow, but we can't figure out what is happening. Of course, soon (after simple deduction) the audience figures everything out. But Guy doesn't see the things we do and he can't figure everything out. The movie evolves into Hitchcock's favorite theme: The Man Wrongly Accused. Cops find drugs in Guy's apartment and arrest him.
Giving any more of the plot away would ruin the story, considering it is a mystery. But this mystery is different from many others. In one way, the viewers actually learn of things before the main character does. I'm not very fond of this kind of style of mystery, but it works in this movie. Cliches seem to be common in movies these days, mainly because it's hard to avoid them. Extreme Measures avoids many of them, including the climax of the movie. Instead of going for all-out action, it relies on the power of Grant and Gene Hackman. They both give great speeches defending their side of the conflict. Who is right? Well, it isn't a surprise, but what happens next might be (Do you actually think I'm going to tell you what happens?).
Possibly, the only thing bad about the movie is the resolution. I didn't feel that I got a satisfactory answer to the big mystery. It left me wanting more and I wanted to know if the problem was ever cured. However, the best thing about this movie is the acting. Hugh Grant is very good in a dramatic role, despite some humorous lines. He drops his humorous side almost completely and portrays the confused doctor efficiently. If it weren't for Gene Hackman, Grant might actually steal the show. But Hackman is powerfully strong as always. He thinks he is always right and everything he is doing is for the best. Hackman's final speech makes his way of thinking correct and Grant has to decide what is best. Not to be outdone though is Sarah Jessica Parker. Parker is always appealing and I love her presence on the screen.
Extreme Measures is rated R. There is a lot of violence and medical emergencies. Sometimes it reminded me of ER. I can't watch ER because the violence and blood is too real. However, when I watch something like Candyman, I like the blood and gore. Maybe it's because I know it's fake. The ER scenes are graphic and too realistic for me though. There is also some nudity at the beginning of the movie and language.