Technology is developing and I am not sure I like the usage of all technology as the Big Brother effect increases. The film "The Final Cut" that stars Robin Williams in the lead role did little to comfort me.
The Final Cut is set in a future where the well off can create an amazingly detailed cinematic obituary called a Remorial (sp) using the person's memory. This is done by inserting a Zoë chip into a child's head before birth. This chip is organic and grows with the person throughout their lifetime. When a person dies it is the job of a cutter to edit their memory into a pleasing film for their loved ones to remember them by.
The aptly named Allan Hackman (Robin Williams) is a cutter. When creating a film for a prestigious client he is haunted by a figure from his past. He goes on a mission to find out about this person and the consequences that arise from this mission.
This film was not my choice but I actually found myself getting involved in the plot and actually quite enjoying it. I am not normally a big fan of Science Fiction unless it has comedic value. I find a lot of it too far fetched and space age. However I liked the feeling of this film. Although it was quite dark and set in either the near future parallel universe I found the setting to be very normal and recognisable. I found the subject matter thought provoking and perhaps more relevant and closer to our lives than we think. The introduction of identify cards came to my mind as did a future development of the television show Big Brother as well as to an extent 1984 by George Orwell.
I am not sure how big the film was in the cinema and is no Hollywood blockbuster. From what I gather it is a jont venture between Canada and Germany I have never heard of the Director Omar Naim nor any of the films he has worked on in the past.
I know Robin Williams best for his comedic, zany roles. However I feel he is a wonderful and versatile actor who could carry off just about any film. One criticism of the film would be the level of characterisation. I felt that apart from Allan Hackmann and the figure from his past I barely remembered the name of the other characters in the film. This hinders the writing of this review, as I cannot comment on any of the supporting and minor roles. Most of the actors were unknown to me,. The only other one I had heard of was Miro Salvino (Romey in Romey and Michelle's High school Reunion), but I barley remember anything about her character
At 90 minutes the film was just about the right length. There was no unnecessary padding and I was not too long for my mind to wander. As said I found the plot interesting but sometimes confusing. This due to the film being interspersed with film clips the cutters were producing. I found myself losing track of where we were, who was who and how it all related to the plot line.
The particular DVD was a rental copy borrowed from my local library and thus did not have any extras at all. However the normal edition has a making of documentary, deleted scenes and an extensive director's commentary. I would have liked to watch it with the commentary on as I feel I would have benefited from the commentary, as it would have explained the ideas and the concept of the film in more depth.
This is a film that I did not plan to watch and it turned out to be not too bad. It is not one I would rush out and buy but I could say I enjoyed it an found some of the issues raised in it quite thought provoking. However it was let down by a slightly confusing plot and a general lack of characterisation. If you like Science fiction and things like AI you might like this.
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
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not-too-distant future where implanted microchips record every single moment of a person's life. Upon death it becomes the job of a "cutter" like Alan Hakman (Oscar-wi...
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![The Final Cut [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78485107.jpg "The Final Cut [DVD]")
Oct 5th, 2005
(Oct 11th, 2005)
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