A man struggles to prove he isn't insane -- which is no mean feat when you're certain you're been transported 400 years into the future. Anne (Hope Davis) is a psychiatrist working at a hospital for the criminally insane whose latest charge is Bill Tyler (Denis Leary), a man who was recently admitted when he was found inside a wrecked truck found in a quarry. Bill isn't sure just where he is or what's happened to him, but he's certain he's traveled four centuries into the future, and if he can't
find a way to get back to the past within 48 hours, assassins will execute him by lethal injection. Anne is bemused by Bill's odd story, but doesn't challenge him on it, instead questioning him in detail about everything he can recall about his past prior to being brought in. As Bill rants about lasers and holographic images, shares his periodic hallucinations, and discusses his feelings about his family and his former girlfriend, he becomes increasingly lucid, and Anne has to figure out how much of Bill's story is fantasy, and how much is fact. Final was written by Bruce McIntosh, who based the script on his own stage play; the feature (shot on digital video) was directed by actor Campbell Scott. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Shot digitally, Final is less than terrific technically; focus and sound levels waver. Luckily, these flaws are not inconsistent with the film's raw, unvarnished tone.
While vaguely reminiscent of VANILLA SKY, it lacks the pretty big-name stars, the sci-fi trappings, and the cop-out ending - and is all the better for it.
Final's redundant, stiff, colorless meetings between Bill and Ann are staged at such a leisurely pace that we're waiting for someone to shut them up and provide some real tension.
Best known as a gritty wiseass, Denis Leary creates a fine dramatic performance as Bill, as does his co-star Hope Davis whose screen presence is glacial and entirely believable.
A character-driven psychological drama/mystery/sci-fi. It moves at deliberately slow place, relying solely on performances to advance the story. Leary and Davis are absolutely superb. Despite the slow pace the movie never gets boring, and the emotional impact in he end was indescribable. Having said that, It feels very
much like a stage play (and as I learned later, it is in fact based on a stage play). So if you are looking for an action packed sci-fi with special effects, this movie is not for you.
December 30, 2011
Gabriel Knight
Denis Leary is surprisingly good. I never thought of him as an actor but I think he did a very good job with what was there. The movie was slow and lackluster until the last quarter of the movie. The ending was well done and suprisingly powerful, though waiting all that time for the end may not be worth it.
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