THE F*CKING BLACK SHEEP: Desperate Measures (1998)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

THE BLACK SHEEP is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATH. We’re hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Dig in!

Desperate Measures (1999)
Directed by Barbet Schroeder

“Desperate Measures is more than someone’s desperate acts… it’s about love, trust, sacrifice, and a bat-crazy killer.”

You know, sometimes a movie’s title really sums everything up. In Fast and Furious, Vin Diesel is both fast and furious. Boyz n the Hood is about, well, young men who reside in the hood. Snakes on a Plane dives into an old-fashioned tale of snakes that happen to be on a plane. And Desperate Measures is about…measures…that are desperate! Yes, I know. I just blew your mind. It’s ok. It’ll sew back together just fine with some dental floss and a sharpened paper clip. It might sting. In that case, only use the mint floss, not cinnamon.

But no matter the obvious title, which more or less explains the theme of the thing, if a movie is done right, it has something more to offer. And that’s the case here. Desperate Measures is more than someone’s desperate acts. No, no. It’s about love, trust, sacrifice, and a bat-crazy killer. It’s about hiring a guy like Michael Keaton and letting him do whatever quirky ass things he wants to do. It’s about ripping off Silence of the Lambs and spinning it into something unique. Ok, so maybe unique is pushing it. After all, once Hannibal Lector graced our screens back in 1991, it has since been difficult to separate him with every other super intelligent psycho killer. It’s hard not to. But then again, with Keaton, I think he’s one of the few actors who could have pulled off playing Lector and been just as effective in the role. Seriously.

But maybe I’m biased. I’ve loved the dude since Gung Ho. Those squinty eyes. That massive forehead. That little button nose. Ah, Michael Keaton. I’m starting to feel like his personal cheerleader here, but the man can play any role, and be convincing at it. It’s a damn shame Hollywood has forgotten this. Dude was Batman, Beetlejuice, Mr. Mom, that Snowman. He needs to be back on screen!

Anyway, intermission over. Back to the film. Desperate Measures is worth a second shot because while it is a typical psycho on the loose movie, it’s also a great character piece. Not necessarily from Keaton’s character Peter McCabe (who is more concerned with being crazy), but from Andy Garcia’s cop Frank Conner. See, Conner has trouble. His kid is dying and needs a donor. Badly. In fact, he’s resorted to looking for inmates for a last hope, praying that he can appeal to their good side. Enter Peter McCabe, the only suitable donor.

So how far will Conner go? What will he do to secure his donor? Will he be McCabe’s jelly man? Seriously though, that element, his hope to save his child, truly makes the film something different. Instead of the cop wanting revenge for his dead partner/brother/mother/cousin, we have a man who wants a child to live. That’s all. And unfortunately that means he needs McCabe alive. So no matter how many folks get dead, Conner desperately allows it to happen if it’ll save his son. And Garcia is perfect for the role. A completely underrated as an actor, he always brings a quiet vulnerability to the screen that few actors have. He does that here even if the role is stretched a little thin once people start dying. I know he’s desperate to save his kid and all, but at the expense of letting cops and civilians die? I doubt it.

To complete my man-crush on Keaton, watch this movie at least for his performance. It’s his film, and he proves it. It’s not hard to tell he loved the chance to play a villain again, especially in a role where his little quirks work. He hams it up, talking up everyone that looks in his direction. He’s one of those likable killers, a confidence man willing to do anything to survive. And that’s the scariest type of character out there. At least that’s what I got from it. Maybe if writer David Klass had developed the role more, there’d be more character to talk about. But sometimes, if the actor is good enough, the character description doesn’t need to say much more than: Peter McCabe: crazy nutbag. And I have a feeling that’s all Keaton needed to see.

Disagree? Buy the DVD for yourself.

GET THE DESPERATE MEASURES DVD HERE