Omar Naim
The Final Cut

I wonder if this film did not evoke any particular suggestion in me because it failed or it is simply a bad film; because evidently, I did not adequately grasp its content and message; because perhaps - although it is a film from 2004 - it is old, and its contents are already a daily reality today, and as such, even if debated, we have already assimilated them.

“The Final Cut” (but the Pink Floyd have nothing to do with it here) is a film written and directed by Omar Naim, and its main point of interest - particularly for the general public - probably lies in the presence of Robin Williams in the leading role. We are in a near future that is already present in which the eclectic actor, tragically deceased four years ago, plays the role of Alan Hakman. A middle-aged person with a shy, solitary character and little inclination for social interaction, Hakman performs a very particular work activity with meticulousness and dedication: he is indeed one of the most sought-after “editors” of what constitutes real films extracted from the memories of the deceased and then artistically reconstructed (making what are considered “appropriate” cuts and perhaps “improvements”) to commemorate their life and pass it on to posterity. Starting with their own children and closest family members. Clearly, by carrying out this activity, Hakman is at the center of controversies, pressures, and threats of all kinds due to the manifest and even violent opposition to this practice, which is deemed to violate the privacy of third-party characters (who are clearly part of the memories of the deceased then “recorded” and thus divulged, just as those who are “cut” are nevertheless acquired as such by those in charge of editing) as well as carrying out acts of altering reality itself.

Clearly indifferent to any type of criticism, Hakman’s attitude will change radically and obsessively when, in one of these “recordings,” he unexpectedly recognizes something that links back to a tragic and traumatic event from his childhood, which would then have conditioned his entire existence. A revelation that upsets him and drives him to go against all the rules that govern both ethically and procedurally his own activity. Inevitably, his search will intertwine with the same issues raised by those protesting against the recording of memories, seriously endangering his survival.

Probably not very stimulating in itself, and beyond the content, interesting but not adequately developed (apart from the fact that with social media, we already have something like this or exactly the same thing; just think of the famous “stories”), more than a science fiction film, it could be defined as a psychological thriller - since the heart of the events would then be those reflections dictated by the perception of the moment that condition our memories - but even in this case and on the same theme, there are far more convincing cinematic productions than this, and in which even Williams appears less brilliant. Something that objectively, beyond the appreciation or lack thereof for the actor, certainly clashes with his overwhelming personality.