The Final Cut

Pauline and I watched a rather dark movie last night. I first saw The Final Cut on a plane heading home from India last year. It stars Robin Williams and features Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel. I’ve been wanting to see it again ever since because it’s just so good at getting you thinking about a range of philosophical, psychological and moral issues. Be warned, it’s not a movie to suit everyone.

The first time I saw it I pondered it for a long time and I’m sure it’ll be no different this time around. I was going over and over the concepts the movie presents as I was cycling to work today.

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?

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.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: The Final Cut – Robin Williams – Movies

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