Extreme Measures is a 1996 crime thriller film based on Michael Palmer's 1991 novel of the same name, dealing with the ethics of medical sacrifices.

The film was directed by Michael Apted and starred Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, and David Morse.

Guy Luthan 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.

As he continues trying to find out what happened, Guy's personal and professional life get suddenly sidetracked.

The police arrest him and he is convicted and in the process he loses his job, his license to practice medicine and all of his friends.

Myrick attempts to sway Guy to join his team, telling him that his "test subjects" are heroes, and that killing one to save millions is worth the sacrifice.

Myrick is accidentally shot and killed by rogue FBI Agent Frank Hare.

Later, Myrick's widow hands the discs and documentation regarding the research to Guy, telling him, "My husband was trying to do a good thing, but in the wrong way."

[4] Then it went to Simian Films, the company of Hugh Grant and his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley, which had set up at Castle Rock Entertainment.

Ebert mentioned in his review that the film is "pitched at a higher level than most thrillers; the dialogue is literate and intelligent, and Grant is more of an everyman than an action hero.

"[9][10] Grant's performance received particular praise for this film, along with An Awfully Big Adventure, for playing against type in his post-Four Weddings and a Funeral career in the late 1990s.

"[11] Janet Maslin, writing in The New York Times, was generally positive about the film, describing it as "stylish and taut with a taste for macabre little surprises".