EXTREME MEASURES
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
This thriller is about the medical profession and, in particular, the harm that could be done if a top doctor allows himself to think that he has the answer that other doctors do not have. This allows him to experiment his theories on people who have not given him permission . . . and if they die, they die, while he keeps on with his experiments.
Dr. Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant) works in the emergency trauma section of a hospital. It is a madhouse in the sense that patients are brought in from accidents, gun shots, etc. and Luthan has to make instant decisions. It's like a war zone. Whom do you try to save? If someone is obviously going to die why waste precious time on him when you could be trying to save someone who appears may still be savable?
What happens when a patient who is wearing one of those hospital ID wristbands dies but no one can identify the hospital. In addition, his symptoms before he dies are very odd. While everyone is running around madly in the trauma ward, only Dr Luthan notices the band and wonders what hospital had issued it. This turns into a mystery thriller as he attempts to track down the hospital and learn why the man died. Dr. Luthan feels there is something very fishy going on and indeed there is.
What makes the film even more exciting is that it involves one of the country's most famous doctors, Dr. Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman).
Dr. Luthan's nurse is Jodie Trammel (Sarah Jessica Parker) who works with him in the trauma ward.
Directed by Michael Apted
Rating: 2.5 4 bytes = Superb 3 bytes = Too good to miss 2 bytes = Average 1 byte = Save your money
Ben Hoffman
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