Desperate Measures

Directed by Barbet Schroeder, Desperate Measures follows FBI agent Frank Conner (Andy Garcia) as he arranges for a convicted killer (Michael Keaton’s Peter McCabe) to donate bone marrow to his dying son (Joseph Cross’s Matthew) – which chaos ensuing as McCabe naturally uses the procedure to launch a daring escape attempt. Filmmaker Schroeder, working from a script by David Klass, wastes absolutely no time in diving straight into the impressively streamlined narrative, with Desperate Measures‘ instantly-compelling atmosphere heightened by a riveting early meeting between Garcia and Keaton’s respective characters. It’s clear, too, that the early emphasis on McCabe’s planning of the escape (and the escape itself) heightens the picture’s impressively captivating vibe, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the film benefits substantially from typically strong work from both Garcia and Keaton (although it’s the latter’s riveting and completely convincing performance that remains an ongoing highlight). The movie’s taut atmosphere takes a fairly palpable hit as it progresses deeper and deeper into its second half, however, as screenwriter Klass stresses the cat-and-mouse battle between Conner and McCabe to an extent that admittedly does grow a little tedious (ie it begins to feel a little generic and by the numbers). By the time the suspenseful (and oddly action-packed) finale rolls around, though, Desperate Measures has recovered its momentum to ultimately confirm its place as an erratically-paced yet predominantly entertaining thriller.

*** out of ****