FINAL CUT

Upon death, a "cutter" then wades through all the footage, edits out the bathroom time and upsetting stuff, and creates a pleasant little movie or "Rememory" to honor the person.

Robin Williams made a movie and no one came! What happened? We have to move past Death to Smoochy! Everyone makes mistakes. It's time to let it go. Robin is still the man we know and love—he's Mork! He's an Oscar winner! The Final Cut is good!

Set in the future, The Final Cut focuses on the controversy surrounding a microchip that can be implanted at birth and record a person's life from start to finish. Upon death, a "cutter" then wades through all the footage, edits out the bathroom time and upsetting stuff, and creates a pleasant little movie or "Rememory" to honor the person.

Robin Williams is Alan Hakman, one of the best cutters in the business. Cutters are not allowed to reveal what they discover when reviewing people's lives, and if there's one thing Alan is good at, it's keeping secrets. You see, when Alan was little, he witnessed a fatal accident and never told anyone. It has haunted him ever since, but somehow he keeps it to himself. His dedication to his work and his secrets have prevented him from fully engaging in his own life, and soon destroys the fragile relationship with his girlfriend (Mira Sorvino).

I expected a cheesy sci-fi version of the future plucked from Logan's Run or Soylent Green, but The Final Cut depicts a time very much like the present. The only real difference is the microchip technology and the ethical questions it raises. The film craftily explores these questions in the context of an absorbing thriller. Do the chips preserve or destroy memories? Are they an invasion of privacy? Do people behave differently knowing that everything they do will eventually be seen by someone else? Do the Rememories create a glorified version of the deceased? What if your chip contains something that a zealot like Jim Caviezel wants?

We confront these questions as Alan learns information that brings his own past into question and puts his life in danger. It's clear that we're all better off without chips in our heads, but the taut storyline prevents the film from moralizing. Robin Williams creates a character that is quietly impassioned, smart, and vulnerable. Regardless of any career misfires, he will always be a contender.