DVD Review: The Final Cut

By Patrick Luce Mar 25, 2005, 18:46 GMT

The movie’s plot revolves around a world divided by a new form of technology, called the Zoe implant, which allows every second of your life, through your memory, to be recorded. Once you die, a “cutter” edits down those recordings into a two-hour “movie of the week” for your family and friends to gather, watch and remember your life.

The cutters live by certain rules, such as they can not have implants or talk about what they see in the editing room, and are sort of a cross between a mortician and a movie editor.

Williams, as he did in One Hour Photo, tones down his normal behavior to deliver a subdued performance of the character Alan Hakman – an expert cutter willing to take the jobs other cutters refuse due to the life of the person. His character is haunted by events that happened early in his childhood that lead him to become the type of quiet and lurking figure William portrays.

When Alan takes a job cutting the memories of a man who was a pro-Zoe implant public figure with dark secrets, the character finds his own life in danger. An anti-Zoe group wants the implant that Williams is cutting and will stop at nothing to get it. The group is lead by James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) - an ex-cutter who now wants to destroy the technology.

Caviezel is somewhat wasted in the movie. He provides great tension and menace when he is on the screen, but isn’t in the movie enough to be effective.

While reviewing the man’s memories, including a dark act that Williams cuts and deletes without a second thought, Alan sees things from his own childhood past that sends his world upside down and forces Williams to deal with a skeleton in his own closet. He also learns truths about himself that will challenge his own life and his work. I can’t really go into more details than that on the plot without giving away secrets that really make the movie worth watching.

The movie has a good solid premise – how would you live your life if you knew every single second was being recorded for others to see after you had died and how would you interact with others if you knew they were recording you. It also deals with the questions of can modern technology go too far and is it better to remember someone or rely on technology to give you those memories. Williams delivers a solid, but restrained performance and is surrounded by great character actors, such as Caviezel and Mira Sorvino. With that said, at times it seems that Williams is too stiff and withdrawn which takes away from some of the danger his character is supposed to be facing.

The film was written and directed by Omar Naim who came up with the idea while working on a documentary. His movie is a very strong first effort and worth watching, but does have problems. At times, the plot is hard to follow and there are a lot of questions that go unanswered when the film finishes. It has a strong opening and a good ending that make it worth watching. It has the right amount of twist and turns along the way that keep you interested even when the movie starts to drag from time to time.

Final Cut also delivers a good blend of genres by feeling more like a crime noir film than a sci-fi film. You are never really sure what year it is set in because of the set pieces and the costumes. You know it takes place in the future, but everything around screams that it is taking place in our time or even in our past. This technique adds to the noir feel of the film and makes it a little more enjoyable – if you like those types of movies.<!--page-->

The movie comes loaded with special features including three deleted scenes, a making of feature, a production design feature, special effects feature, and a storyboard comparison to film. The deleted scenes add to Williams’ character including things from his childhood and a further showing more of his character. The making of feature talks about how Naim came up with the idea for the movie, and how the actors responded to his direction. They also talk about the difficulties of working with Williams when the camera would stop rolling and he would become more himself. The making of feature is more enjoyable than some are and very interesting. The production design feature discusses how they wanted to create a world drenched in nostalgia rather than a slick future that has been shown in other films. There was value put on handcrafted items of the past that further states how the movie was tied to memories.

The Final cut is a haunting look at the future and where technology could take us. It asked the question would we want to go there and provides some good suspense along the way. Williams delivers a solid performance in a role that takes him further away from his comic roots, but is mesmerizing to watch. I would recommend the film to anyone who like their science fiction mixed with a little old school crime noir.

The Final Cut is out now in the US and can be ordered via Amazon. UK readers can also order the US version through Amazon UK.

You can read more about this release in our database.