The idea behind The Final Cut is a facinating one. The question it poses is somewhat subtle: are your memories reality? While even the casual viewer will pick up on this subtextual storyline (although may not realize it), the overall story is a basic thriller.
From
Netflix : "In this futuristic tale, chips inserted into the brain at birth record a person's entire life; when the person dies, the video is edited and shown at the funeral. Video editor Alan Hackman (Robin Williams) hacks out the worst of a person's life, depicting sinners as martyrs. Alan's turned into a cold megalomaniac, but things change when he finds his own scary childhood memory in the databank of a client. Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel also star."
Robin Williams really shines in this film giving an extremely subtle, well balanced, under-acted performance. His lines are kept to a minimal amount, most of his thoughts and emotions portrayed through his eyes. It's a rare performance extremely pleasurable to witness when films today suffer from excessive dialog. The Final Cut is truly a minimalist film.
The supporting cast is just as good the exception being Mira Sorvino. Unfortunately, her acting here is comparable to previous performances: giddy smiles of affection. Only in one instance does she give us a very strong performance.
Right now I'm sort of torn. I would have liked to have had more about what is memory, what is reality and what is our perception. But then I wonder if these questions had been more inclusive would it detract from the subtly I love about films like this?
Even though this is a slighty slow-paced film it's worth checking out. With the performances and questions raised the idea behindThe Final Cut are as interesting as the conversations viewers will have on the subject matter.