Omar Naim's The Final Cut is startlingly different than a conventional science fiction film. It's a compelling fable that offers a vision of a world where memory implants record all moments of a person's life. Post mortem, these memories are removed and edited by a "Cutter" into a reel depicting the life of the departed for a commemorative ceremony, called a Rememory. Robin Williams' powerful portrayal of Alan Hackman, a troubled "cutter," propels this character driven story that forces us to question the power of our memories and the sanctity of our privacy.
Robin Williams, Jim Cavieziel and Mira Sorvino play in this fine film. For some reason it didn't do well in theaters - my guess is that there simply wasn't enough publicity to draw an audience.
Williams' character, Alan Hakman, is a cutter who uses only the "good" parts of people's memories to form their Rememory, leaving out any traumas, bad deeds, or other negatives. This, of course, cheats the families - while they have a happy goodbye, they're not left with an accurate picture of the person they've lost.
Frankly, I'd think that if your "loved one" was as much of a sucmbag as some of Hakman's "clients," you'd want to remember what a bastard they really were, so it wouldn't hurt as much. But that's just me.
The thing is, Alan is gradually losing himself, because he spends all his time invested in the lives of others - and because he's the best cutter out there, they assign him anyone who had something to hide, anyone who was a bad person, anyone who knew something they shouldn't - you get the idea. Alan know EVERYBODY's dirty laundry, and it's making him crazy.
Jim Cavieziel and Mira Sorvino both do well in their roles, but realistically, this movie is all about Robin Williams. Cavieziel and Sorvino both play supporting roles in their true sense - their roles serve to contrast, and highlight, Alan Hakman, not to distract from him. The viewer is unable to really identify with either, because their appearances in the story only draw out more of Hakman's character.
This movie is a definite buy - I just did - and I recommend it to anyone, despite IMDB's lukewarm reviews. This is the best acting Robin Williams has done since One Hour Photo, which I am reviewing in a few minutes.
