Extraordinary Measures

Just watched this true life drama starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser at the theatre with my friend who works there. Not the kind we normally go to see but since this film had only one afternoon showing time for the days of this week, we felt it was worth a look. The leads were pretty good for the characters they played and provided enough drama to make their admiration for each other clear despite some disagreements. The two handicapped kids of Fraser's character provided both humor and some genuine touching moments that didn't go overboard. Also fine was Keri Russell as Brandan's wife and Courtney B. Vance as another parent with similarly diseased kids who tells his family's story to a captive audience. My favorite scenes are those involving Ford's doctor character constantly playing classic rock songs in his lab to the consternation of everyone else there. Extraordinary Measures is perhaps not a great drama, but it provides enough moments that make this worthy entertainment.

Based on Geeta Anand's book, Tom Vaughan's 'Extraordinary Measures' starts off like the typical Hollywood film. With the formulaic score and introduction of the protagonist as a successful executive with a happy family..until one sees that the two youngest children of the protagonists are suffering from Pompe's disease, an illness that atrophies the muscle and nerve cells and leads to death. The doctors aren't optimistic about the prognosis of the disease for which there's no found cure. However, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) isn't giving up and he pursues researcher Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford) who may have the answer to the solution.

The film does tend to be sentimental at times and it does occasionally resemble the 'TV film of the week' but what drives it are the performances. Fraser's performance has been criticized for being too emotional while Russell was criticized for the opposite. But I don't see why characters have to be gender-stereotyped to be realistic. Why is it impossible for the mother to be more controlled and the father to be more vocal and demonstrative about feelings? That said, I did feel that Keri Russell's role was underdeveloped even though the actress does a brilliant job with what she's given. I also would have liked to see more of Harrison Ford who was simply terrific as the stubborn and fiercely independent Stonehill. Brendan Fraser is great as the father and husband who won't give up at any cost. Of the supporting cast, Courtney B. Vance stands out.

Flawed it may be...the pacing is uneven and at times the film loses track. The execution is fairly ordinary but not intrusive. The picture does provide some insight on an illness that isn't so commonly known but at times it confuses the viewer with half-baked explanations. However, the performances lift 'Extraordinary Measures' from being an average flick.

Pretty much what I expected it to be, a well told and heart-warming story about dedication, love and endurance. What I did doubt about this film was the casting. All doubts were quickly dispelled because everyone was PERFECT in their roles. You knew Harrison Ford would deliver but both Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell were amazing as desperate parents determined to save their kids. The film is predictable, maybe to a fault and really didn't go for the deep emotional impact that I was expecting but it still hits home hard enough. The ending seemed also to be somewhat abrupt but still, I enjoyed this movie very much.

I went to see this film with some personal trepidation, but the lure of a possibly good story drew me in. I can say I wasn't disappointed. It's often difficult to objectively assess the work in a contemporary film because much of the surroundings seem common place. I can say that the sets, art direction and costuming seemed to be a comfortable fit and lent it a sense of realism that I appreciated and that also happened to add to the fine production quality of the film.

But as must be the case in a film of this nature, the quality ultimately comes down to the efforts invested by the director and his cadre of accomplished actors. Their efforts certainly didn't disappoint me. The lion's share of the load was placed squarely on the shoulders of Brendan Fraser as John Crowley. I had a personal sense of justice on the line with how well he might do. There were several scenes that rang true to life for me; his portrayal of the internally tortured, desperate and determined father of two terminally ill children made me feel he did such real fathers justice. I think I can say that because I once was one myself.

The other performances were excellent as well. I would have a tough time in faulting Harrison Ford as Dr. Robert Stonehill. He gave a great performance as an overworked, frustrated scientist - something I can also relate to as I've been something of a scientist in my past myself. He felt real to me; I've known men just like him, maybe including me - I guess you'd have to ask my former colleagues how close it was.

But the other performance that I was particularly taken with was that of Courtney B. Vance as Marcus Temple. His tight emotional presentation went right to my heart and hung there heavily. It felt like me, I wanted to hug the man; maybe cry with him. I'd love to see him receive a nomination for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Not to be left out is Keri Russell as Aileen Crowley. She gave a good performance, but to me it seemed a little less emotional than mothers like this I've personally known; especially my own wife. I also think they could have given her more space to reveal a character that would be more in depth but that's not her fault - maybe the screen writers? So, in the final analysis I think she did a great job and certainly did nothing to diminish real mothers like her character.

As one may have surmised from what I've written, I may be too personally prejudiced to look at any film like this with artistic fairness. So judge me if you like; you can go to a web site at http://webpages.charter.net/bruce.jones1/ and click on the button labeled "Belinda" on the left; it gives a personally biased but true story of my daughter's struggle for life. Let me know what you think ... you can also be treated to photos of the world's largest Lady Bug collection as a reward for your trip - a collection she started.

The bottom line is this - by all means go see this film; especially if you've been so fortunate as to never have experienced this kind of tragedy yourself. And when you do see it, give some thought in the future to the fact that, in this country, we spend more money advertising beer than we do fighting lethal childhood diseases.

One of the most underrated films of the year. Clearly this movie was too intellectual for the general public. Well acted, well directed and with a very powerful message. The movie shows to what lenghts good parents will go for their children. It also reveals the difficulty in placing a new well needed drug with the FDA. The message this movie reveals is the priority of costs by drug companies over the health concerns of individuals and families affected by rare diseases. Both Bryandon Frasier and Harrison Ford deliver powerful performances in this film. Its refreshing to watch a film and not have to sit thought the typical car chase or shoot-out.