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Extreme measures

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

When a homeless man dies from bizarre symptoms in one of New York's busiest trauma rooms no-one takes much notice except Doctor Guy Latham (Hugh Grant). Professional concern deepens into disbelief as he unearths the shocking details of a private medical research programme that centres around one of the country's most revered medical figures - Doctor Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman). Latham's credibility, career and life are threatened as he edges ever closer to the unthinkable truth about the programme, and the terrifying moral dilemma at it's heart.

The first motion picture produced by Simian Films, a company formed by Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley.

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Intelligence analyst

Agent Tim

Theatrical report

You know, I never knew that Hugh Grant's voice was so deep and manly. Well, it started out deep and manly but got more shrill as the movie progressed. Which is not to say that this is a bad movie, because it ain't, I just wanted to make sure that I trashed something right at the start.

Speaking of starts, the opening scene is really cool, with lots of blood and running around and machines that go ping. From that point everything gets deeper and darker and more mysterious. The tension mounts as tense things happen (dark tunnels, set-ups, weirdoes) which makes everyone tense.

Hugh is really rather good considering what a twat he is. He also has all the best sarcastic frustrated Englishman lines in the script. Funny that. Gene Hackman is sinister, but he's always sinister. I have never liked him, not since he played Lex Luthor in Superman and it was a real bomb. And look what happened to Christopher Reeve.

Anyway, I and Tim were both thrilled and tense by the end of the film, and we could've discussed the deep moral issues but we had nachos instead. Tim reckons that Sarah Jessica Parker (who plays a nurse, and had the real tits in LA story) is ugly. She doesn't do anything for me, either.

Security censorship classification

M (Medium level violence, medium level coarse language)

Surveillance time

118 minutes (1:58 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

Film: 24 April 1997

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