The Final Cut (2004)

Genre: Science-Fiction / Thriller

Directed by: Omar Naim

Cast: Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, Jim Caviezel

Running time: 95 minutes

In a world where a chip can be bought and implanted into your child’s brain to record everything he or she sees, cutters are very important people. Upon the person’s death, they are hired to edit these recordings and make a short film to be shown at the funeral. Alan Hakman is one of the best cutters in the business and he is known for handling controversial figures. Alan will remove these people’s bad deeds and make them look like saints. A former colleague of Alan comes back in the picture, asking him to hand over his latest case. Alan refuses, and, while he tries to fight off this intrusion into his work, a memory from his childhood comes back to haunt him.

With The Final Cut, there is some good and some bad.

First off, the storyline is very compelling and interesting. It will very likely spark some conversations about ethics if it is watched by a group of people. Also, I must praise Robin Williams’ performance. Over his career, while he was known for wild outbursts and over-the-top madness on screen, he could also show a lot of restraint. That’s what he did here, and, in the process, he made Alan Hakman feel very real.

As for the bad, Mira Sorvino did not raise her stock as an actress with me in this film. Man, she is such a bad actress. Also, as much as The Final Cut weaved an intriguing tale, the ending felt kind of flat for me, like it was unfinished.

All things considered, The Final Cut is an interesting, albeit flawed, movie.

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