Willa's Flic Pic: The Final Cut * *

The Final Cut
2004, Omar Naim
Sci-fi
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Alan: There will be nothing I won't know soon.

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The Final Cut is set in a future time when people can have a Zoe chip implanted in their brain to record everything they see – basically recording their life. The recording is strictly for private use. When the person dies the recording is edited by a technician called a cutter who creates a rememory of the person’s life for the surviving family.

Even though it’s a personal choice to have the chip implanted, there are those who don’t want to be recorded by someone who does. A more radical opposition group, rumored to be lead by an ex-cutter named Fletcher (James Caviezel), morally objects to the ability to record at all and protests at funerals when rememories are played. This group can often be recognized because of their elaborate neck, face and head tattoos. They use electrosynthetic ink that creates a magnetic field, interrupting the recording device.

Robin Williams plays Alan Hakman, a cutter who works for the Eye Tech Corporation. He is the best in his field. He executes his duties with excellent beauty. His own life is lived like a priest. He has no relationships. His life is his work. He doesn’t even go to an office; his cutting machine is in his home. He is stoic, accused of being "a man of marble". Choosing not to live his own life, he privately lives those of the recordings he watches.

Hakman and Fletcher knew each other from when Fletcher was a cutter. Fletcher’s disgust for the profession is the only thing that gets a rise out of Hakman. They are like the leaders of good and evil, but which is which? Each views himself as a respecter of life.

Fletcher is determined to bring an end to companies like Eye. He sees his opportunity when one of the lawyers for Eye, Charles Bannister, dies and Hakman is in charge of creating his rememory. Fletcher is convinced that there are skeletons in Bannister’s closet that will aid the opposition in bringing down Eye and all companies like them. He tries to convince Hakman to give him the recording. When Hakman refuses, Fletcher is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

The Final Cut is very well cast. Robin Williams is a brilliant comedian, but as far as his films are concerned, his dramas (Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, Insomnia, One Hour Photo, House of D) are far better than his comedies. Mira Sorvino has proven herself in the full range of genres (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, The Replacement Killers) and James Caviezel has an intense commitment to his roles (The Passion of the Christ, Frequency).

I think this film has a great premise but the suspense of the story is flawed. It is a ridiculous idea that exposing Bannister’s disturbed personal life would ruin the rememory industry. Has the exposure of any executives’ porn or prostitute patronizing, drug addiction, or fetish for young boys has utterly ruined their own company, much less their entire industry? Whether or not Fletcher got his hands on this evidence was essential to the opponents’ initiative and that just seemed silly.

The film does most things well but not great. There are several great ideas presented but they’re not explored deeply enough to make an impact on the audience. The film is enjoyable but not memorable.