Summary:
The dilemma that underpins this is whether or not it is right to sacrifice a few for the good of many, particularly when the "few" are represented by New York homeless down-and-outs, and the "many" by wheelchair bound accident victims. In tackling this dilemma a number of cinematic options are open and here the makers opt for the thriller genre rather than a story woven around personal tragedy. But in so doing the moral dilemma tends to take a back seat in order that the thriller approach can grab the audience's attention.
Dr Luthan (Grant) is a bright up-and-coming doctor working in the Emergency Room of Grammercy Hospital in New York. Gunshot wound and drug overdose victims are staple diet for this ER but Luthan's curiosity gets the better of him when one of his patients dies in mysterious circumstances. His subsequent investigation of this death see him drawn into a murky world equivalent to that of good old-fashioned body-snatching. Indeed, even the two police officers he comes up against are Messrs Burke and Hare!
His pursuits lead him into all manner of personal and career crises as he descends (literally) into the Hell beneath the city streets. This leads to his eventual showdown with Dr Myrick (Hackman) who has his own ideas about conducting medical research. And here we are presented with the moral question - to what extent should it be permissible to sacrifice the few for the many? It's also at this point that the use of the thriller genre as a vehicle for the moral question comes a bit unstuck. We have been rooting for Luthan throughout as he overcomes one difficulty after another and, as a result, it is difficult not to side with him when it comes to resolution of the moral questions. Although some efforts are made to help convey Myrick's viewpoint they are really shoe-horned into the scene in which the two doctors come up against each other on level terms. Here the audience is clubbed about the ears with Myrick's viewpoint, a viewpoint rather heavy-handedly reinforced by the presence of his pretty wheelchair-bound assistant.
The ending sees Luthan symbolically ascending the steps to his own "Promised Land", in sharp contrast to his earlier escapades in the nether world. Overall the film was not a bad attempt at involving its audience in the underlying morality issue. But the thriller format and the consequent need, in such circumstances, to have the audience firmly on one side, obscured objective consideration of the issues.
The performances in the main were excellent. Gene Hackman played a very cool and balanced Dr Myrick in such a way that although we are never sympathetic to him, we do recognise his intentions are good - the problem is with the means. Of Hugh Grant, what can be said? He again plays, well, Hugh Grant. He looks more like an amiable, slightly detached Notting Hill bookseller than an overworked ER doctor - but he does so in all his films! David Morse deserves a special mention for his mean portrayal of Hare (of Burke and Hare fame). The direction is well-paced and in the whole thing treats its audience with respect.
The dilemma that underpins this is whether or not it is right to sacrifice a few for the good of many, particularly when the "few" are represented by New York homeless down-and-outs, and the "many" by wheelchair bound accident victims. In tackling this dilemma a number of cinematic options are open and here the makers opt for the thriller genre rather than a story woven around personal tragedy. But in so doing the moral dilemma tends to take a back seat in order that the thriller approach can grab the audience's attention.
Dr Luthan (Grant) is a bright up-and-coming doctor working in the Emergency Room of Grammercy Hospital in New York. Gunshot wound and drug overdose victims are staple diet for this ER but Luthan's curiosity gets the better of him when one of his patients dies in mysterious circumstances. His subsequent investigation of this death see him drawn into a murky world equivalent to that of good old-fashioned body-snatching. Indeed, even the two police officers he comes up against are Messrs Burke and Hare!
His pursuits lead him into all manner of personal and career crises as he descends (literally) into the Hell beneath the city streets. This leads to his eventual showdown with Dr Myrick (Hackman) who has his own ideas about conducting medical research. And here we are presented with the moral question - to what extent should it be permissible to sacrifice the few for the many? It's also at this point that the use of the thriller genre as a vehicle for the moral question comes a bit unstuck. We have been rooting for Luthan throughout as he overcomes one difficulty after another and, as a result, it is difficult not to side with him when it comes to resolution of the moral questions. Although some efforts are made to help convey Myrick's viewpoint they are really shoe-horned into the scene in which the two doctors come up against each other on level terms. Here the audience is clubbed about the ears with Myrick's viewpoint, a viewpoint rather heavy-handedly reinforced by the presence of his pretty wheelchair-bound assistant.
The ending sees Luthan symbolically ascending the steps to his own "Promised Land", in sharp contrast to his earlier escapades in the nether world. Overall the film was not a bad attempt at involving its audience in the underlying morality issue. But the thriller format and the consequent need, in such circumstances, to have the audience firmly on one side, obscured objective consideration of the issues.
The performances in the main were excellent. Gene Hackman played a very cool and balanced Dr Myrick in such a way that although we are never sympathetic to him, we do recognise his intentions are good - the problem is with the means. Of Hugh Grant, what can be said? He again plays, well, Hugh Grant. He looks more like an amiable, slightly detached Notting Hill bookseller than an overworked ER doctor - but he does so in all his films! David Morse deserves a special mention for his mean portrayal of Hare (of Burke and Hare fame). The direction is well-paced and in the whole thing treats its audience with respect.