Robin Williams and The Final Cut

The death of Robin Williams has rocked the world and over the past 24 hours we’ve been reminded of his great comedic talent, his great acting abilities and what a wonderfully warm and giving person he was. The world certainly has lost a very talented man.

None of the tributes have mentioned one of my favourite Robin Williams movies. It didn’t get very positive reviews and it certainly wasn’t a blockbuster. In fact, most people have never even heard of it.

I first saw The Final Cut on a plane heading home from India in 2005. As well as starring Robin Williams it features Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel. It’s certainly no comedy but it’s very good at getting you thinking about a range of philosophical, psychological and moral issues. Be warned, it’s not a movie to suit everyone.

Every time I’ve seen it I’ve pondered it for a long time, going over and over the concepts the movie presents.

It’s a very strange story about memory chips implanted in unborn children to record everything that they see and hear in their lifetime. The idea is that once they have passed away someone called a ‘cutter’ takes the chip and creates an audio visual memorial of their life called a ‘Rememory’. Of course they have the job of editing the footage to hide the dark side of the person and only show them in a good light.

At one point Caviezel’s character, who is against the technology, asks Williams, the best cutter available, how he lives with himself. He sees the lies, the cheating, the violence and yet he only presents people as warm, caring people who are dedicated to their families. Williams says, “I forgive people long after they can be punished for their sins.” So, is it about forgiveness or covering up?

In a greater sense, back in the real world, don’t we do just that ourselves? Aren’t we all working as ‘cutters’ on our own lives? Don’t we all choose to show those parts of our personalities that show us in the best light when we’re around others? Don’t we all hide the darker side to some degree?

One man attending his brother’s Rememory asks if the cutter has altered the colour of the fishing boat from a childhood holiday. All his life he had remembered the boat being green but it was actually red. I wonder how many things from our past we can remember so distinctly yet we’ve remembered wrongly. Would it be right to correct that kind of memory or is remembering things in our own way part of our human experience?

I guess the biggest question the movie raises is if every moment of your life was being recorded, would you live it differently? If you knew that every moment of your life would one day be placed in the hands of a stranger who would sift through everything you’ve ever done would you be a different person? Would you be a better person? If you knew that by talking to someone else you could be videoed by their implant would it change the way you interacted with others? If you knew that you could never hold a secret would it change your behaviour now?

As I mentioned, The Final Cut didn’t get rave reviews and many people felt that the concepts and issues it raises weren’t investigated thoroughly enough but I think it touches on them just enough to give you your own opportunity to think through some of the issues. The scenarios that are played out are unlikely to ever happen but there’s more than enough big ideas that already touch our lives to think through.

If you’re up for 90 minutes of darkness that will have you pondering some interesting possibilities, have a look at The Final Cut.

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