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Desperate Measures (1998)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
David Klass (written by)
Release Date:
30 January 1998 (USA)
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Tagline:
His son needs a DNA donor to live. The clock is ticking. The only match is a vicious killer. Now all Frank Conner has to do is catch him. more
Plot:
San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son...
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Plot Keywords:
Hospital
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Police
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Escape
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Prison Escape
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Psycho Thriller
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Awards:
1 win
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NewsDesk:
(12 articles)
Michael Keaton: 'There's a price to pay for making your own choices'
(From The Guardian - Film News. 19 November 2009, 1:40 PM, PST)
Bon Jovi's The Circle Hits The #1 Spot On Billboard
(From MTV Music News. 18 November 2009, 12:32 AM, PST)
(From The Guardian - Film News. 19 November 2009, 1:40 PM, PST)
Bon Jovi's The Circle Hits The #1 Spot On Billboard
(From MTV Music News. 18 November 2009, 12:32 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Despite the extremely negative critical reaction, I thought it was reasonably entertaining.
more (70 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Michael Keaton | ... | Peter McCabe |
 | Andy Garcia | ... | Frank Conner |
 | Brian Cox | ... | Captain Jeremiah Cassidy |
 | Marcia Gay Harden | ... | Dr. Samantha Hawkins |
 | Erik King | ... | Nate Oliver |
 | Efrain Figueroa | ... | Vargas |
 | Joseph Cross | ... | Matthew Conner |
 | Janel Moloney | ... | Sarah Davis |
| Richard Riehle | ... | Ed Fayne |
 | Tracey Walter | ... | Medical Inmate |
| Peter Weireter | ... | SWAT Team Commander |
 | Keith Diamond | ... | Derrick Wilson |
| Steve Park | ... | Dr. Gosha |
 | Steven Schub | ... | SWAT in Airduct |
 | Neal Matarazzo | ... | Cell Guard |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for violence and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
USA:R (certificate #34792) |
Australia:M |
Iceland:14 |
Iceland:16 (video rating) |
South Korea:15 |
Philippines:PG-13 |
Argentina:13 |
Chile:14 |
Denmark:15 |
Finland:K-16 |
Germany:16 |
Netherlands:16 |
Singapore:PG |
Sweden:15 |
UK:15
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In addition to some of the scenes filmed in Pittsburgh, an elaborate set was constructed in a vacant hangar at what is now known as the San Bernardino International Airport, what used to be Norton Air Force base. Both the jail/prison was three stories high and the hospital, built to the same level, were both physically connected by the concourse seen in the movie.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Conner is helping a shot officer shot in the arm, the officer's shirt is open showing a stomach wound and his white t-shirt with a big blood stain. In the next shot, the shirt is buttoned and we see his uniform is navy blue. His open shirt is seen in next shot as he is on table being examined.
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Quotes:
Peter McCabe:
[after agreeing to transplant] These cigarettes are stale. You tell that cop and his dead kid I won't stand for stale cigarettes.
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Soundtrack:
PROUD MARY
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (70 total)
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Yes, we can pretty much agree that all of this is patently ridiculous and exists purely in a movie world as opposed to the real world. But it *is* supposed to be escapism, isn't it?
Andy Garcia plays Frank Conner, a San Francisco detective, whose nine-year-old son Matt (Joseph Cross, in a very nice, mature performance) is dying of leukemia. He desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. The screenwriter's contrivance shows that Frank will break and bend every rule in the book to save the life of his son, so he accesses private FBI information to find out that the only person who qualifies as a compatible donor is nasty, sadistic, sociopathic murderer Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton, who is fantastic). McCabe initially refuses, then relents, but only because this will give him a shot at freedom, so he concocts an elaborate plan that allows him to escape and start leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake.
Conner then throws all caution to the winds and gets even more reckless. All that matters to him is saving his kid's life, and that means preventing McCabe from being taken out, because his bone marrow will become useless once he is dead.
It's not really worth it obsessing over all the little things that might be wrong with this screenplay. It does set up a fairly good, involving, visceral - not to mention *loud* - action thriller; as I've already said, Keaton and Cross are standouts, but Garcia really gets into his role, and the supporting cast includes such reliable performers as Marcia Gay Harden (as Matt's incredibly dedicated doctor) and Brian Cox (delivering once again, in another of his frequent American roles, as Conner's fed-up boss), as well as Erik King, Keith Diamond, Janel Moloney ('The West Wing'), Richard Riehle, and ubiquitous hey-it's-that-guy veteran Tracey Walter.
What really helps it along is watching Keaton at work, and realizing how wide his range is. He can make vile characters such as this one compelling, without really getting a viewer to actually like them. McCabe is a true S.O.B., and an entertaining antagonist.
Capably directed by the respected French film-maker Barbet Schroeder, it's a decent enough movie - it has its moments - and it truly shows us just how far a father might be willing to go on behalf of his child. Extremely far, indeed, if one is to actually believe this kind of fiction.
6/10