Extreme Measures

Extreme Measures (1996) is an American medical thriller you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Michael Apted, with Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman in the lead roles. Grant plays Guy Luthan, a British doctor at a New York ER who notices something no one else bothers with: a dying homeless man's body vanishes from the morgue without a trace.

Pulling that thread leads Luthan to a celebrated surgeon — decorated, well-connected, and utterly certain he is doing the right thing. Hackman plays the antagonist without sneering; the man has a coherent argument, which is exactly what makes him dangerous. The final confrontation between the two doctors is where the film earns its premise.

Sarah Jessica Parker and J.K. Simmons appear in supporting roles. For Grant it was a deliberate step away from romantic comedy, and he holds the straight-thriller register well enough. As a 1990s genre piece it moves cleanly, without excess, and the ethical question at its centre — how far is too far when the goal is saving lives — lands harder than the action beats. Stream Extreme Measures (1996) on iFILM.