Fatherly Love

Extraordinary measures is a film based on true events, the story and acting are excellent and this film is well worth a watch, enjoy my review....

John Crowley is a family man and loves his wife and children very much, unfortunately for him two of his children suffer from Pompe disease which is killing them. He and his wife are working hard to try and find someone who can help to prolong their lives. John knows of a doctor Robert Stonehill who has written and discovered some groundbreaking information which may help sufferers of Pompe.

When John’s son deteriorates further he takes it upon himself to travel to Nebraska to see the doctor in person as he has not replied to any of his messages. Stonehill does talk to him and describes his theories but the blow comes when John is told how much it will cost for him to be able to make his research come true. John promises he will raise the money and Stonehill agrees to meet him in one month to start work.

Can John and his family raise the money needed for his research and will Stonehill be able to help Pompe suffers all over the world and ultimately save John’s children?

This is a film which only came to light when I found it on Sky movies, I had never heard about it before but after reading the small info about it and seeing the cast list both me and hubby decided to give it a go. We did have a few reservations about watching though as this is a drama and one of the lead roles is played by Brendan Fraser and neither of us have seen him play a straight role before, fortunately he did a superb job and we both thoroughly enjoyed the film and did find it quite moving. The story is based on true events and for me finding it out at the very start made it more moving and emotional and I had some very strong emotions when watching and there were one or two times when I was on the verge of tears. The way the story came across was excellent and I found it was evenly spread over the family life and the medical research side.

The lead role if John was played by Brendan Fraser and for me I thought he was excellent, as I previously said this is the first time I have seen him in a straight role and he did the character justice. He managed to move right away from his bumbling daft characters and show emotions depth and true courage when taking on this thought challenging role. He worked very well with the two disabled child actors and I could see genuine love and feeling for them from him. The was tender and loving for the majority of the home life but I loved seeing the change in him when it came to fighting for the lives of his children. He delivered all of his lines with ease ad I thoroughly believed he knew what he was talking about when it came the medical side of the story. There was a good on screen chemistry with john and the role of Stonehill as well and I think the way they worked together was lovely and encouraging to see. Stonehill was played by Harrison ford and he did actually surprise me in this role, he was not a hard or tough action man but a more reserved Doctor. He gave the impression of knowing what he was talking about and describing and I found he did a good job of being strong and reserved yet letting a few small emotions come out when seeing the children.

We did have a lot of other good roles in the film and some of the actors who played these characters included, Keri Russell, Meredith Droeger, Diego Valazquez and Sam M Hall. The 3 children in the film were excellent and I loved how Megan came across, she was comfortable with her illness and did not let it get her down or affect her attitude to other able bodied children. She was strong and I thought she bought a lot to the film.

The film was set in the present day so no real effort was needed with the sets and props, they were all good and modern and I found the way the medical elements were bought into the film were understated and not overly thrown at us and the objects used all looked very authentic. The costumes were all in keeping with the story and year of production and all looked nice and fitting.

I did think the music for this film was good and worked well, it did help with the emotions and feelings of the story, the majority of the tracks were orchestral and I thought they were all very well produced and really did suit this film. There were no real special effects in the film as the children were actually disabled and did not have to act this way, the wheelchair used were standard ones and no effects were needed to help them move and look good. There were no stunts or explosions and none were needed in the film.

This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 106 minutes and I found this to be a good length with the story moving at a good steady pace from start to finish. The rate is a PG and I do not fully agree with this. There is no swearing or sex in the film but due to the subject matter and the emotion which come across I feel it would be a little hard for very young children to watch and follow without being affected by it. The DVD is available for around £5 which I feel to be a good price for such a great film.

I am more than happy to give this film a high recommendation and the full 5 stars. The acting was surprising excellent and the story was quite moving and powerful. I would advise that this will affect parent more than none parents as it makes you thankful for having healthy children. Definitely worth a watch and more so as it is based on true events.