Click to read the article
Final (2001)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:16
Rotten:22
Average Rating:4.9/10
Theatrical Release:Dec 7, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: A solemn, quietly upsetting story about a man suffering from amnesia and paranoia who suspects he is part of a scientific government experiment in an apocalyptic near future, FINAL is a sad and... A solemn, quietly upsetting story about a man suffering from amnesia and paranoia who suspects he is part of a scientific government experiment in an apocalyptic near future, FINAL is a sad and moving unsolvable puzzle. Bill (Denis Leary) wakes up in a small room with a mind full of partial memories and a body suffering deteriorated motor skills. He gazes out the locked window at the Connecticut fall leaves, imagining that he sees his girlfriend, Sherry (Marin Hinkle) on the grass. Then she disappears, a mere illusion. A pretty nurse, Ann (Hope Davis), enters the high-security room, replacing Sherry's lost image, and begins psychological counseling, trying to help Bill remember what happened to him. But he is convinced that he knows what really happened--that he was in an accident, he was frozen in a cryogenic experiment, and now he is waiting to receive a final injection and be put to death. Though Ann listens to Bill and studies him as he jokes and shares memories about his mother, his father, and Sherry, his delusions make him nearly incapable of logical conversation. With a soulful blues-infused musical score, Leary and Davis deliver emotional, poetic performances, buttering up the audience for the revelatory final twist. [More]
Starring: Denis Leary, Hope Davis, J.C. MacKenzie, Jim Gaffigan
Starring: Denis Leary, Hope Davis, J.C. MacKenzie, Jim Gaffigan, Jim Hornyak, Maureen Anderman, Marin Hinkle, Madison Arnold, Caroline Kava
Director: Campbell Scott
Director: Campbell Scott
Screenwriter: Bruce McIntosh
Producer: Gary Winick, Alexis Alexanian, Mary Frances Budig, Steve Dunn, Campbell Scott
Studio: Cowboy Pictures
Get This Movie
Reviews for Final
Comes off as a shoddily assembled, somewhat padded story that resembles a more buttoned-down Twelve Monkeys in its better moments and a high school video project in its worse ones.
Denis Leary and Hope Davis played against each other like fire and water
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.
Leary ... digs deeper than he has before, and he makes himself over into an arresting lost soul.
Though Scott co-directed two other films (Big Night with Stanley Tucci and Hamlet with Eric Simonson), his solo effort feels like the debut of an amateur.
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.
[Scott] aptly places these all-too-human characters in a complex situation that is both compelling and entertaining.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



