EXTREME MEASURES
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1996 Scott Renshaw
(Columbia/Castle Rock) Grade: B / Worth a Ticket Starring: Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker. Screenplay: Tony Gilroy. Producer: Elizabeth Hurley. Director: Michael Apted. Running Time: 115 minutes. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, violence) Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Whenever I hear an actor talk about needing to "stretch," I generally feel the need to stretch my legs very far in the opposite direction. I do not mean to suggest that actors are not artists who seek out new challenges. It is simply that those who usually make the biggest noise about moving beyond one type of role in which they have been successful are also those who have lingered in that one role for a very good reason. Hugh Grant had become so familiar as a stammering, self-effacing light comedian that one would be forgiven for suspecting that was all he had in him. As evidence to the contrary, witness EXTREME MEASURES, a solid Hollywood thriller in which Grant takes to the role of suspense hero like a producer to a sequel.
Grant plays Dr. Guy Luthan, an emergency room surgeon in a New York public hospital who has grown accustomed to the chaos and life-or-death judgments which come with the job. He thinks he has seen everything, until a homeless man is brought in one night experiencing unexplainable symptoms. The man's sudden death piques Guy's curiosity, but when he begins looking for autopsy records, he finds that the body has disappeared; further, the man's records seem to have been purged from the hospital's computer files. Guy smells a conspiracy, but before he can investigate further he is framed for drug possession and fired from his job. His life in a shambles, Guy does the only thing he can do: throw all his energy into finding out who is behind the frame-up, and how it is connected to the research of Dr. Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman).
As a rule, the Hollywood suspense thrillers of recent years have been a rather sorry lot, and I believe that one of the reasons has been that constant attempts to shock are being substituted for the creation of mounting tension. Director Michael Apted has made some of the more intriguing character-based suspense yarns of recent years (THUNDERHEART, BLINK), and EXTREME MEASURES has a way of getting under your skin. It is an exceptionally well-paced film, with Guy's dilemma growing incrementally; its effect is based on watching Guy get deeper and deeper in trouble, rather than watching him hurtle from one life-threatening confrontation to the next. There is also at least one completely unexpected turn which seems to put Guy in an impossible situation, and a fight in an elevator which might truly bring you to the edge of your seat.
Anchoring it all is Hugh Grant, who appears determined to go all the way in becoming "the next Cary Grant" by playing a Hitchcockian man who knew too much. Grant is exceptionally convincing as an ER surgeon, approaching every crisis with a matter-of-fact professionalism and confidence. It is tempting to play such characters as arrogant, and in the case of EXTREME MEASURES it would be even more tempting so that the story could be based around a lesson about playing God. But Guy is simply a scientist whose basic curiosity gets him into a completely unexpected mess, and there is such a consistency to Grant's performance that his comic and dramatic moments merge seamlessly. It is an eye-opening piece of acting, and all the more challenging because Grant has to carry nearly every scene.
If there is one major frustration in EXTREME MEASURES, it is that Apted and screenwriter Tony Gilroy don't handle the conspiracy at its center very well. It is obvious what is going on far too early, particularly if you have seen any of the trailers which essentially give everything away. That detracts from the process of discovery, and might make you impatient as you simply wait for Guy to figure out what you have known for over an hour. The conclusion tries to shove far too much into far too little time -- a physical showdown; the outlining of a moral dilemma; the attempt to flesh out Hackman's role, which is really a glorified cameo -- resulting in a thriller which sags exactly when it should be peaking. It is fortunate that the preceding ninety minutes is so energetic and involving. It is even more fortunate that Hugh Grant is so well-suited to his role, and that it proves not to be such a stretch to think of him in a lab coat rather than just a morning coat.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 research Grants: 7.
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