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Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Morse, Bill Nunn ... see more see more... , John Toles-Bey , Debra Monk , Peter Appel , Elizabeth Hurley , Paul Guilfoyle , Shaun Austin-Olsen , Andre DeSheilds , Diana Zimmer , J.K. Simmons

Comic leading man Hugh Grant gets serious in this drama about a physician who uncovers a truly disturbing secret. Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor serving a residence in a hospital in New Yor... read more read more...k City, is very puzzled by a patient brought to the emergency room one night. Naked, disoriented, and bearing a hospital bracelet and a fresh surgical scar, the mystery man is suffering from a baffling variety of symptoms, and though he dies not long after he's admitted, Luthan can't get the patient out of his mind. When he asks to see the records on the patient a few days later, he's told they no longer exist, and the more he digs, the more he's convinced that someone knows something they're not telling. Against the advice of his friend Jodie Trammel (Sarah Jessica Parker), a nurse and colleague, and the instructions of his superiors, Luthan keeps digging into this and other strange cases that have come through the hospital lately. Luthan's sleuthing eventually brings him to the door of Dr. Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman), a well-known surgeon who is doing research in experimental surgery that could allow patients with severe spinal injuries to walk again. While Myrick's work is done with the most noble of intentions, there turns out to be a sinister undercurrent to his research techniques. Actress Elizabeth Hurley, Grant's offscreen significant other, was co-producer for this picture, the first from their joint production company. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

38% liked it

10,561 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

33 critics

R, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Michael Apted

Release Date: September 27, 1996

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DVD Release Date: December 14, 1999

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Stats: 294 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (294)

  • 76Majikat
    November 6, 2010
    76Majikat
    A great Thriller from the 90's with a slightly more serious role from Hugh Grants and less typecast than we are used to.

    An original plot which has been copied many times including in TV programmes. A good conspiracy film, which presents a great dilema, which will at least ma... read moreke you question the circumstances yourself.
  • SirPant
    November 27, 2009
    SirPant
    A far from thrilling thriller. Hugh Grant is woefully miscast!
  • RossCollinsUK
    November 30, 2008
    RossCollinsUK
    I can't remember much about this movie but I think I enjoyed it.
  • thmtsang
    July 14, 2007
    thmtsang
    Thriller about legally medical practices.
  • Beefy
    April 25, 2007
    Beefy
    Grant is quite good.
  • garyX
    January 1, 2007
    garyX
    Gene Hackman is wasted in a journeyman "thriller" in which Hugh Grant proves he can't do serious either.
  • Tecnoandre
    September 18, 2011
    Tecnoandre
    Thriller film based on Michael Palmer's 1991 novel of the same name, about the ethics of how far we are willing to go, and how much we are willing to sacrifice, in order to cure the world's ills.With a "conspiracy theory" plot, this is a well made thriller with some surprises.Wor... read moreth a try.
  • paj85
    April 7, 2012
    paj85
    "Extreme Measures" was interesting but far from what I expected. The characteristic that works in this film's favor is its mystery. I cannot imagine any person watching the first sequence without really wanting to know what is wrong with the two guys. The film builds to its mi... read mored-point where the script reveals a well-designed reason for the paralysis/unintelligence. Unfortunately, this film is rather flat outside of its mystery. Gene Hackman's acting is always top notch (and this performance is no exception), but Hugh Grant does not do well in this dramatic role. I couldn't have cared less about Sarah Jessica Parker's character and even Bill Nunn wasn't in his best form (and I love him in EVERYTHING!) In addition to better acting, this film could have used a healthy dose of realism. I found the entire thing to be so farfetched that I wished that they would've resolved the mystery, explained the motivations for these experiments, and avoided ransacked apartments and underground slums. "Extreme Measures" is worth a watch if there isn't anything better on, but there are many dramas and thrillers that need to appear on your list before this one.
  • Sheiob
    October 24, 2009
    Sheiob
    It's a mediocre film, that has a lot of great actors putting in decent performances. Worth a one time watch if you're bored and/or really like the cast.
  • LittleMissBloodAndGuts
    July 29, 2009
    LittleMissBloodAndGuts
    This movie had some good thriller elements. Sarah Jessica Parker's role could have been mostly eliminated. The major flaw here was Hollywood's continued perpetuation of the myth of the Hippocratic Oath. Doctors are some of the most ruthless, psychopathic, incompetent, cruel, c... read moreallous capitalists in the world. They routinely experiment on the destitute, the uninsured, the unwary, and the homeless. Many seem to delight in negligently killing patients. We won't even start with the drug companies here.

    I'm not buying Hugh Grant's character's idealism. His Dudley DoRIght character is a complete turd in this film, and not likely to be found in real life. I have plenty of M.D.'s in my family and it's my opinion that no M.D. worth his salt would have turned his back on such valuable research. This is one case in which the unethical doctors were doing something worthwhile. The subjects were the sorts of people I live in fear of everyday. I realize that there is a slippery slope type issue here, as the European branch of my family could have attested to in 1939-1945, had they not been put into a Volkswagen ashtray. However, that issue is beyond the scope of this movie. Just once, it would have been nice to see the idealist have an epiphany of reality in the end. Once again in the course of a review, I must utter the curse, "Hollywood, Eat My Shit."

    Or perhaps, as has been pointed out in the forums, it is the idiotic American audience that is to blame for the smarminess. Hollywood is simply a machine programmed to choose the most financially becoming conclusion to any film.

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Critic Reviews

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

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.

Charlie Lyne
October 31, 2011
Charlie Lyne, Ultra Culture

It's a fish out of water story in which neither the fish nor anybody else seems aware of his 'out of water' status. Full Review

Rob Nelson
September 5, 2009
Rob Nelson, Boston Phoenix

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. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
July 30, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

If it's never as scary or provocative as it means to be, at least it's straightforward and satisfying. Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
January 23, 2006
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

A spine-tingling suspense machine that holds you captivated from beginning to end. A much underrated, overlooked thriller.

Ken Hanke
February 18, 2004
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Extreme silliness, but kind of fun.

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2004
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Tries to be a both a medical thriller and morality play, and it doesn't quite deliver in both departments. Full Review

Dan Lybarger
November 5, 2003
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online

A thoughtful if somewhat heavy-handed medical thriller that benefits enormously from Hackman's involvement.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
August 27, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Opens our eyes to some serious moral issues involving advances in medical science. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Hackman and Grant make a surprisingly watchable pair, but there's yawns to be found.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Extreme Measures Trivia

  • What's the name of the film about a surgeon who is obsessed with a dark haired beauty and goes to extreme measures to be with her?  Answer »
  • He's starred in the following movies, name the actor Sense And Sensibility Bitter Moon Nine Months Extreme Measures  Answer »
  • what is one of the movie's hugh grant star in?  Answer »
  • In the movie 'Extreme Measures' (1996), who played Dr. Guy Luthan's (Hugh Grant) companion?   Answer »
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