Last night we watched Omar Naim’s The Final Cut
and I have to say it was pretty intriguing. The first reason I picked up this movie
was because the director is Jordanian-born, the second: because it was highly recommended by Laith. I was not
disappointed. It was very enjoyable.
The movie’s forte is its script, which was also written by
this young first time feature film director. It discusses the idea of storing then replaying people’s
memories after they are dead so they can be shared and cherished by their loved ones. The star of the movie was Robin Williams who performed brilliantly, as expected. But I
guess the most impressive thing about the movie, as a whole, was the director
himself, who at only 27 managed to direct such a powerful film with a cast of high-powered, talented actors like Robins, Mira Sorvino and James Caviezel.
Truly, a very good movie that’s worth both your time and money. 8/10
Hey Natasha,
saw the movie as well, interesting, grabbed my attention fully, i think it ended too quick..
cheers!
I enjoyed this film more than I expected to, particularly knowing nothing of the plot, etc. The idea of sampling or saving memory somehow electronically is unique but not entirely new. It first popped up in Brainstorm, a freaky little flick. But then was used to varying degree in the truly oddball Cronenberg flick EXistenZ and somewhat in Minority Report. The closet comparative though, has to be Strange Days, a favorite of mine.
But none of them did quite what Naim did here. His master stroke was this idea of an editor for these stored memories. That unique concept took this movie to a more complex emotional and narrative level and made it unique even though similar in concept to these others. It seems that unique take on the concept really excited some A-level talent.
How lucky could this first time director be to get Williams and Sorvino. But then to get the folks behind the camera that he got is just amazing. Tak Fujimoto is the one that really floored me. This guy was the one behind the camera on Terrence Malick’s amazing Badlands. Heck, he was second unit photographer on Star Wars in 1977. But he also shot things like cult classics Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Miami Blues, The Silence of the Lambs and The Sixth Sense. He finished Cut and went and shot Manchurian Candidate (2004).
Naim had the script that brought them all out. Hollywood really is just starving for creative, innovative work. That’s what Naim brought. Boy, the talent was just there salivating for a chance to explore something other than another Bruckheimer–Bay behemoth, packed with big explosions and small ideas.
I think Naim’s masterstroke was sort of making the behind the scenes talent of movie-making part of the story through this idea of the "cutter." Fujimoto even followed the visual cues that Naim penned and Williams’ character discuses: clean and balanced.
The film’s only real low-point is that it never really dials up the drama. Things are so low-key and, reflective really, that the final death really isn’t much of a shocker. The "making of" had Sorvino saying that it was hard to predict storyline. Well, it wasn’t that hard but more to the point it wasn’t a plot shocker ending really; it just folded out in a way that seemed natural.
What seems most exciting of all, however, is that this guy is now "in" and some well known Jordanian filmmakers are his buddies. That can only mean good things for Jordan and its budding film scene. The more Jordanian talent in Hollywood the better and the better for film-making generally as new and creative sensibilities get a chance to show what they’ve got.
I think he is Lebanese but he grew up in Jordan then moved to the US
Saw this on RJ last March. It’s very interesting.
6.5/10 on my scale.
Did not know the director was Jordanian, awesome.
its ratings are between C+ to B-, not bad
hahaha. that was funny iyas.
wow now i woll check this movie out for sure.
hatha Laith akeed tali3lo percentage from the distribution. he recommends this movie right and left. at least it is not a horrible one.