Opens our eyes to some serious moral issues involving advances in medical science.
Extreme Measures (1996)
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Reviews Counted:30
Fresh:17
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6/10
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: At New York's Gramercy Hospital, a homeless man under the care of English doctor Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant) dies in a horrific manner. Soon both the patient and his file mysteriously disappear. The... At New York's Gramercy Hospital, a homeless man under the care of English doctor Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant) dies in a horrific manner. Soon both the patient and his file mysteriously disappear. The puzzled Luthan is told by a superior to forget about it and move on. Undaunted, Luthan conducts his own investigation--and uncovers a scandal in which homeless people are being used as human guinea pigs in the name of science. The moral Luthan wants to put a stop to this, but doing so may cost him his career--and his life. Adapted from a book by Michael Palmer, the film marches to its conclusion with as much suspense as director Michael Apted's previous thrillers (AGATHA, GORKY PARK, and THUNDERHEART). Grant plays the charming, put-upon Englishman to perfection, while Gene Hackman and Sarah Jessica Parker provide strong supporting roles. An intelligent examination of the contemporary dilemmas in medical ethics, the film concludes with an ending that will challenge viewers' moral beliefs. [More]
Starring: Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Morse
Starring: Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Morse
Director: Michael Apted
Director: Michael Apted
Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy
Story: Michael Palmer
Producer: Elizabeth Hurley
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Reviews for Extreme Measures
Is it excusable to kill a few indigents here and there experimenting for a miracle cure? Measures' painfully protracted Hour 2 turns into a melodramatic debate about ethics.
Tries to be a both a medical thriller and morality play, and it doesn't quite deliver in both departments.
If it's never as scary or provocative as it means to be, at least it's straightforward and satisfying.
The good liberal Michael Apted seems to think he's directing a film about society's exploitation of the homeless. In fact, the exploitation is all his.
Always imaginative director Apted ... is a master at the thriller genre.
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