Extreme Measures

Michael Apted cut his directing chops on some obsure soap in England called CORONATION STREET back in 1960. I gather the show didn't do very well as nobody has ever heard of it and it fell into the dark regions of the cathode ray ether. Still, he went on to have an illustrious career helming such critically acclaimed films such as NELL, COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER, GORKY PARK, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and many, many more. So, one might be inclined to think Apted knows what he is doing when it comes to directing a film which is what makes EXTREME MEASURES such a head scratcher. Gene Hackman is a doctor willing to do anything to figure out away to cure spinal injuries and this is where our title comes from. Hugh Grant is the young star who gets caught in the crossfire when he stumbles on to something he wasn't supposed to and Sarah Jessica Parker floats around looking doe-eyed and incredulous. Despite what you might think of Grant and Parker, this type of star power under the direction of Apted should make for a rather tense little medical thriller. It doesn't. Perhaps the fault is with the script which was an early work of Tony Gilroy who may just walk away from this years Oscars with not one but two little gold statues for MICHAEL CLAYTON. Who knows, point is the film seems stilted, almost as if it were an engine trying to start on a cold winter morning only to sputter out and die. Sure, it manages to entertain and as it was shot in part here in Toronto there are some local sights to enjoy as well as a nice cameo from homeboy David Cronenberg and a bit part from CSI's Paul Guilfoyle but in the end you just walk away feeling unmoved.