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Extreme Measures

original film poster
Directed by Michael Apted
Produced by Elizabeth Hurley
Andrew Scheinman
Written by Tony Gilroy
Starring Hugh Grant
Gene Hackman
Music by Danny Elfman
Cinematography John Bailey
Editing by Rick Shaine
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) September 27, 1996
Running time 118 min.
Language English
Budget $38 Million (USD)
For the DS9 episode see Extreme Measures (DS9 episode).

Extreme Measures is a 1996 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.

Contents

Primary cast

Plot

Dr. Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant) is a New York emergency room doctor who one night comes across a strange patient: a homeless man who has a wristband from a hospital he's not familiar with, mentioning a drug he's never heard of, and with strange symptoms, including a wildly fluctuating heart rate. When the man dies, Guy attempts to follow up and find out more about the patient - only to find that the body and all records have disappeared, and he's told by his superiors to drop the case.

As he continues trying to find out what happened, his personal and professional life get suddenly sidetracked. His home is ransacked and cocaine is planted near his bedside. The police arrest him and he is convicted and in the process losing his job, the ability to ever practice medicine anywhere in the world and virtually all of his friends. In desperation, he manages to get the help of some homeless men who lead him to their underground home. His ER patient who died also had lived there. Through them he's led to an organization, led by Dr. Myrick (Gene Hackman), that performs spinal experiments on the homeless people, all of whom have died thus far, in an attempt to find a cure for paralysis.

Myrick attempts to sway Luthan to join his team telling him that these people are heroes and losing one to save millions is worth the sacrifice. Dr. Luthan states they have not chosen to be heroes. Myrick is shot and accidentally killed by FBI Agent Hare (David Morse). Later, Mrs. Myrick hands the discs and documentation regarding the research to Luthan telling him "my husband was trying to do a good thing, but in the wrong way". He opens the package, views the materials and proceeds towards the neurology building where he is now working.

Quotes

  • Dr. Lawrence Myrick: "People die everyday. And for what? For nothing. What do we do? What do *you* do? You take care of the ones you think you can save. Good doctors do the correct thing. Great doctors have the guts to do the right thing. Your father had those guts."
  • Dr. Guy Luthan: "Those men upstairs, maybe there isn't much point to their lives. Maybe they are doing a great thing for the world. Maybe they are heroes. But they didn't choose to be. You chose for them. You didn't choose your wife or your granddaughter, you didn't ask for volunteers. You chose for them. And you can't do that, because you're a doctor, and you took an oath, and you're not god. So I don't care, I don't care if you can do what you say you can. I don't care if you find a cure for every disease on the planet! You tortured and murdered those men upstairs, and that makes you a disgrace to your profession! And I hope you go to jail for the rest of your life."

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