Final Analysis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Final Analysis | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
|
| Directed by | Phil Joanou |
| Produced by | Executive Producer: Richard Gere and other. Producers: Paul Junger Witt Charles Roven and others. |
| Written by | Screenplay: Wesley Strick Story: Robert Berger Wesley Strick |
| Starring | Richard Gere Kim Basinger Uma Thurman Keith David |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Jordan Cronenweth |
| Editing by | Thom Noble |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | February 7, 1992 (USA) |
| Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Final Analysis is neo-noir drama, directed by Phil Joanou, written by Wesley Strick and executive produced by Richard Gere and Maggie Wilde.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is a top notch San Francisco Freudianesque psychiatrist who has Diana Baylor (Uma Thurman) on the patient's couch. He's treating her for frightening and horrific childhood memories which include images of her drunken father and his death in a fire for which she was blamed.
One night, the stunning Heather Evans (Kim Basinger) enters Barr's office and says she's Baylor's sister. She asks Barr for information about her sister's case.
It's implied that as part of the treatment Isaac speaks to Heather to find out more about her sister's past experiences and to determine if she might provide information Diana has forgotten.
Not long after Heather seduces Isaac and a steamy affair follows.
The problem: Heather is married to Jimmy Evans (Eric Roberts) a violent and wealthy gangster. She has a way of embarrassing Jimmy in public, by taking a sip of wine and then flipping into an attack of "pathological intoxication," which can end with the restaurant in a shambles.
Soon, we discover it's not Diana that needs the professional psychiatric help but Heather. She's trying to involve unsuspecting Issac in a plan to murder Jimmy, and collect a 4 million dollar double indemnity life insurance policy on him. She's also using Diana as bait and have Issac framed for the murder.
This neo-noir is similar to a classic Hitchcockian thriller like Vertigo where the twists never stop until the end.
[edit] Suspension of disbelief
Given that Barr is a licensed psychiatrist, some of his actions make the audience's suspension of disbelief difficult. From the beginning Dr. Barr seems to handle the case unethically. For example, when Heather Evans enters Barr's office one night, claims to be the sister of one of his clients and starts pumping him for information, Barr complies with her request. Barr's disclosures are clear ethical violations. Also, Barr's romantic involvement with Evans is also an unethical act.[2]
In addition, during the trial can a friend of the defendant testify as an expert witness? The answer is: probably not.
[edit] Filming locations
In Southern California filming locations include: City Hall, Downtown, Los Angeles, California.
In Northern California filming locations include: Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco; Fort Baker, Marin County; Highland General Hospital, Oakland; Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pescadero; and Sausalito.
[edit] Exhibition and box office
Tagline: A psychiatrist and two beautiful sisters playing the ultimate mind game.
The film opened in wide release on February 7, 1992.
The boxoffice receipts were very good. The first week's gross was $6,411,441 and the total receipts for the four week run were $22,742,734. The film was in wide release for twenty-four days.
In its widest release the film was featured in 1,599 theatres across the country.[3]
[edit] Critical reception
The reviews of the film were mixed.
Roger Ebert liked the screenplay which he thought famed film director Alfred Hitchcock would have also liked. Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote, "I'm a sucker for movies that look and feel like this. I like the pounding romantic music, the tempestuous sex scenes, the crafty ways that neurotic meddlers destroy the lives of their victims, and of course the handcrafted climax..."[4]
Vincent Canby was pleased with the work of the actors in the film. He wrote, "Mr. Gere and Ms. Basinger are attractive as the furious lovers, but Mr. Roberts is the film's electrical force whenever he is on screen. Ms. Thurman does well as a sort of up scale slavey."[5]
However, many reviews were similar to film critic Kathleen Maher's views. She believes the director was painting by numbers in this thriller and repeats what's been filmed in many films noir before. She wote, "Joanou, with his puppy dog devotion to noir thrillers and Hitchcock, is hoping to get it all right by painting by the numbers. He's mixed parts of Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, and Vertigo, but the result doesn't even live up to Dead Again..." And Maher says she's seen Gere's acting like this before. She added, "[B]ut Gere reverts to that shell-shocked acting style he adopts when lost at sea."[6]
[edit] Cast and ratings
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Argentina: | 16 |
| Australia: | M |
| Chile: | 18 |
| Finland: | K-16 |
| Germany: | 12 |
| Iceland: | 16 |
| Netherlands: | 16 |
| Norway: | 15 |
| Peru: | 18 |
| Portugal: | M/16 |
| Singapore: | M18 |
| Spain: | 18 |
| Sweden: | 15 |
| United Kingdom: | 15 |
| United States: | R |
- Richard Gere as Dr. Isaac Barr
- Kim Basinger as Heather Evans
- Uma Thurman as Diana Baylor
- Eric Roberts as Jimmy Evans
- Paul Guilfoyle as Mike O'Brien
- Keith David as Detective Huggins
- Robert Harper as Alan Lowenthal
- Agustin Rodriguez as Pepe Carrero
- Rita Zohar as Dr. Grusin
- George Murdock as Judge Costello
- Shirley Prestia as Dist. Atty. Kaufman
- Tony Genaro as Hector
- Katherine Cortez as Woman Speaker
- Wood Moy as Dr. Lee
- Corey Fischer as Forensic Doctor
- Jack Shearer as Insurance Consultant Doctor
- Lee Anthony as Judge
- Derick Alexander as Ambulance Attendant
- Abigail Van Alyn as Night Nurse
[edit] Awards
Nominations
- MTV Movie Awards: Most Desirable Female, Kim Basinger; 1992.
Unwelcomed nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards: Razzie; Worst Actress, Kim Basinger; Worst Picture, Charles Roven, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas; Worst Screenplay, Wesley Strick (also story) and Robert Berger (story); 1993.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Final Analysis at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Kempley, Rita. Washington Post, "Final Analysis, an implausible psycho thriller," February 7, 1992.
- ^ The Numbers box office data.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. The Chicago Sun Times, film review, February 7, 1992.
- ^ Canby, Vincent. The New York Times, film review, February 7, 1992.
- ^ Maher, Kathleen. The Austin Chronicle, February 14, 1992.
