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Final (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:16
Rotten:22
Average Rating:4.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Dramas
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
Reviews for Final
Though its story is fuzzy, the acting and direction in Final give it an air of quiet, dignified ambition.
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.
A movie that tries your patience but, finally, rewards it handsomely.
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.
Campbell Scott's brutally claustrophobic direction is alleviated by Leary and Davis's unhysterical performances.
Denis Leary and Hope Davis played against each other like fire and water
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.
Leary ... digs deeper than he has before, and he makes himself over into an arresting lost soul.
[Scott] aptly places these all-too-human characters in a complex situation that is both compelling and entertaining.
The pace suddenly picks up and the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place for Bill and for the audience.
The budget here was clearly miniscule, but others with less experience have certainly done more with less.
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