Today’s quick review: The Final Cut. As a Cutter, Alan Hakman’s (Robin Williams) job is to sift through a lifetime of memories and edit them down into a touching, first-person tribute to the deceased. But Alan finds himself in a tight spot when he agrees to cut for a reviled lawyer. As an old colleague (Jim Caviezel) pressures Alan to turn over the lawyer’s memories for political gain, Alan uncovers a shocking clue regarding his own past.
The Final Cut is a science fiction drama set in a world where neurological implants make it possible to record a person’s memories and play them back after death. The movie explores the profound effects the technology would have on both individuals’ lives and society as a whole while investigating a mystery from Alan’s childhood. However, the movie’s dark tone and lack of an overarching plot limit its value as anything but an intellectual exercise.
As far as the speculative side of the genre goes, The Final Cut has everything a sci-fi fan could hope for. The neural implants that Alan uses to assemble his tributes are a small change in technology that has rippling effects on society. The ability to record memories has implications for privacy, crime, and the nature of memory itself. The Final Cut explores these questions thoroughly using a variety of storytelling tools.
The Final Cut works well as a thought experiment but less well as a story. The plot consists of three connected threads: the fight over the lawyer’s memories, Alan’s investigation into an incident from his past, and his deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend (Mira Sorvino). These are all decent threads on their own, but none of them step up and take charge. The result is a mystery without much forward momentum or payoff for its threads.
The Final Cut can also be an uncomfortable watch. The memories that Alan reviews are intimate and often disturbing. Part of his job is to erase a lifetime of misbehavior, so the darker side of humanity is on full display. Alan himself also cuts an odd figure. He is a quiet, reclusive, and not entirely scrupulous man whose job and personality isolate him from the rest of humanity. He has sympathetic moments but is decidedly not normal.
Watch The Final Cut if you’re interested in science fiction that’s heavy on drama and speculation. The Final Cut’s thorough exploration of an interesting premise will appeal to fans of the more thoughtful side of the genre, but the movie fails to take advantage of the story opportunities that its setting provides. Those looking for a thrilling, plot-driven story or a focused mystery should look elsewhere.
For a sci-fi thriller with a similar premise and more action, try Minority Report. For another sci-fi movie that looks at recorded experiences, try Anon. For a more comedic takae on a fully observed life, try The Truman Show.
6.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for interesting speculation let down by a mediocre plot.