“”The Final Cut””, a film with a ‘name’ cast headed by Robin Williams (in a dramatic turn), and helmed by young director Omar Naim, handles the topic of memories. That is, when the movie doesn’t cover romance, ominous looking folks with tatoos, childhood accidents, family issues, and continually stalking character named Fletcher (James Caviezel, looking more physically fit than his earlier “”Passion”” role). Those moments that do succeed are the ones that focus on individuals’ recollections, but more on that in a moment.
This flick’s title comes from the profession of a group known as cutters. Apparently, the viewer is told that in this world–presumably the future–there has been something called the Zoe Project, whereby certain people have been implanted with a near-undetectable chip that records everything these folks see…and that means everything (no sexy shower scenes, but lots of brushing teeth). At the time of an implant holder’s, well, expiration, the chip gets passed to a cutter, whose job it is to splice together the best of the deceased’s memories for a memorial service and to have something shown for all eternity.There are also three rules depicted at the movie’s beginning–and as general movie guidelines dictate, any rules listed early on will be broken by the film’s end (as to which of the three rules get broken, well…). They are, in a nutshell, the following: that a cutter cannot peddle Zoe footage; cutters cannot have been Zoe implants themselves; and one can’t take bits from one Zoe life and mix it with another.Alan Hakman (Robin Williams), is not only a cutter, but among the best. He can produce great collections of memories–mini-movies taken from what a Zoe person sees, as it were–for all the dearly departed’s friends and relatives to view. His clients generally tend to be the more despicable types, the criminals, the spouse beaters, the sexually deviant, to the point where Allan calls himself a kind of ‘sin eater’, who absorbs the sins of others.The plot kinda meanders around, with the protagonist getting a plum assignment in working with the memories of the husband of Jennifer Bannister (Stephanie Romanov, “”Thirteen Days””, TV’s “”Angel””). Her late husband Charles (Michael St. John Smith) was an attorney with EY(backwards E) Tech–the corporation that handles Zoe related issues. Things get more complex when Fletcher, Hakman’s former colleague (i.e. ex-cutter), wants to obtain Charles Bannister’s chip, even offering money for it, but is turned down as exchanging the chip would be a violation of the cutters’ code.Other characters who appear in Alan’s life are longtime friend and fellow cutter Thelma (Mimi Kuzyk, “”The Day After Tomorrow””, “”The Human Stain””), another co-worker named Hasan (Thom Bishops), and budding love interest Delila (Mira Sorvino). The last one works in a local bookstore, and had an ex-boyfriend–now dead–who was part of the Zoe project.[pagebreak]The film starts interestingly enough, with a flashback moment that ties in to events later in the film. The problem here, however, is that when a certain bespectacled person shows up later on at a party, it seems a little too convenient (and the odds of recognizing someone from a long, long time before just by the manner he holds his glasses is pretty slim). The best parts of the movie are those that focus on that initial, pre-credits, sequence, and how this ties into the issue of what makes up a memory, and how one recalls the past (that what one sees is not necessarily what truly happened).There are many sub-plots, and twists, and the movie dives right into its subject without too much of a back-story. The film might be better for a repeat viewing–if one is truly up for that–but upon watching it for the first time it seems confusing, such as what exactly the terms “”Zoe”” and “”cutter”” mean. Then there are the tatooed ones, rebels as it were, who want to undo the whole Zoe implant thing, shouting “”Remember for yourself””, as opposed to having a cutter produce a ‘best of’ montage that just takes snippets from a person’s life.Other things to gripe on include the romantic sub-plot between Alan and Delila, which doesn’t really get developed, nor gets resolved. There also seems to be a large number of people with the Zoe chip, especially since it’s stated that only one in 20 individuals has it–here the characters are either cutters, Zoe members, or scary tattoo people.””The Final Cut”” crams in a bit too much for just one movie, and it would have better sticking to its main story (or rather—one person’s recollections) than trying to tackle a whole hodgepodge of issues. The acting is good at least, especially Williams, who continues to move from his comic/congenial guy parts. In the film here, he portrays one quietly going about an increasingly difficult job, all the while his inner pain starts to seep through.Otherwise, there is much to absorb here, and some of it not necessary, and some plot lines don’t fully get resolved. There is a lot going on here—enough to fill up a trilogy. It can all be….a little too much to recall.Grade: C+EM Reviewby Andrew Haas10/15/04