Netflix Review: The Final Cut

Suggested Netflix Queue Position: 152, or maybe you should just watch Strange Days again

It’s so rare that a fresh idea becomes a movie these days- we are trapped in a rut of sequels, remakes, tv conversions and stories based on toys. With the kind of money being thrown into movie production now, Hollywood seems to prefer to spend on concepts with existing brand value that can be capitalized, rather than spend the time to develop fresh ideas and thought-provoking scripts.

But don’t blame Hollywood–sure they are partly to blame, but they are merely reacting to the public demand. They are, after all ultimately in the business of making money, not movies. And these days it is the 14 year old boy that wields power at the box office. The result? Endless movies based on video games, and sequels of excellent R-rated movies like Die Hard get watered down to a tame PG-13 to get the kids money.

This current state of affairs is exactly why it is even more disappointing when a movie finally comes along with a truly interesting premise, only to be executed poorly, leaving the viewer only with a sense of what a great movie might have been made. In this case, I’m talking about the Robin Williams’ sci-fi film, The Final Cut.

The movie is based on the concept that people can have memory recorders (called Zoe implants) implanted into their children’s heads before birth, so that everything they see and hear is recorded. After that person dies, these memories are downloaded and serve as lasting memories for the loved ones he or she has left behind. But the implant isn’t cheap, so we largely see wealthy people having the implants. Williams plays Alan Hakman, a ‘cutter’–someone who edits a deceased person’s entire life of memories into a short, beautiful highlight reel of that person’s life. It’s Sportscenter for rich people who can’t dunk.

This means he edits out everything nobody wants to see or be remembered for–eating your boogers in kindergarten, being a bully in 7th grade, throwing up on that cute girl at that fraternity party, that time you slept with a hermaphrodite, farting in the elevator, cheating on your wife with her mom, molesting the neighbor’s dog–you get the idea. Hakman views himself as a ’sin eater’–one who absorbs another’s sins, cleansing them of their own and preserving the fond memories of the good things about the deceased.

But other groups protest the use of Zoe Implants- they feel that people can not live their lively freely if they know everything is being recorded. They also feel that the editing of the deceased’s crimes is a form of rewriting history, allowing wicked people to get away with their crimes. When one of the high level executives of the implant company dies, they try to get the memories from Hakman, through whatever means necessary. Their plan is to review the memories for incriminating evidence about the executive and the company.

This voyeuristic concept of tapping into and recording someone else’s experiences isn’t entirely new- the idea has been touched on other sci-fi movies like Strange Days and Minority Report (off the top of my head), and there are so many great ideas to be explored here, particularly in a time when the Patriot Act pushes the boundaries of personal freedom in the name of protection, and any person with a cellphone can post an incriminating video to Youtube. Who owns these memories? Could the government confiscate them? What if the cutter abuses the information he learns while editing the memories? What about the secrets of the living that are revealed by the deceased memories? The rights to privacy boundaries are completely obliterated.

This movie is so good for about 3/4 of the film. Unfortunately, with all this fertile ground to explore, The Final Cut feels like it ends right where it should be beginning. This movie could have gone in so many exciting directions. Yet after a fascinating setup, it follows the most boring, predictable path possible, and in the shortest route possible. So much is left on the table. For a movie about the craftsmanship of film editors, this one should found a better one.