Final Analysis (1992)
Final Analysis starts off alright, sets up some interesting ideas, but then gets increasingly predictable, ludicrous and finally loses all credibility by the end.
This 2-hour movie has a complicated plot, but not one that’s hard to follow. Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is a psychiatrist treating Diana (Uma Thruman). When her sister, Heather (Kim Basinger) comes in to help him, they begin having an affair. Unfortunately for Isaac, she’s married to a wealthy Greek gangster (Eric Roberts), she’s got a disorder called “pathological intoxication”, and everyone isn’t who they seem to be. The would-be romantic finds himself in a world of trouble.
This is a tricky movie to review. There are many twists and I don’t want to spoil them. Ultimately, I can only give the movie a 2/5 but will admit that for a while, it really had me going. The steamy affair between the two leads is certainly the kind of development that makes you happy to be a human with eyes, the plot's twistiness is enjoyable, and many aspects of it remind you of classic thrillers. A lot's going on and while it doesn’t all work, there are good moments throughout. My first issue is with the characters' intelligence, which depends strongly on whether or not the plot requires them to be smart. The second is with the running time. A lack of restraint transforms Final Analysis into a generic thriller at the end.
At first, you’re cheering for Dr. Isaac. He’s an expert in his field, handsome, and charismatic. He helps people and seems genuinely nice, not one of those slimy Arkham Asylum-type psychiatrists who throw the insanity plea all over the place. Then... he begins making stupid mistakes. I’m not skilled at spotting twists but this time, I saw every major development coming. He's dumber than you are so instead, your allegiance shifts. You want the villain to win. Unfortunately, the movie cheats. Just when you think there’s no way Isaac can get himself out of a jam because he’s been outsmarted by someone craftier and more patient than he is... they make a mistake that is totally out of character and the scale tips in Isaac’s favor once again. Then BAM! The movie hits you with yet another plot development, one that eats up another half hour of your time. That’s where the movie really starts to sink.
The ending is ridiculous. Not only is it telegraphed a mile away, but it keeps topping itself in increasingly idiotic ways. I can’t tell you what happens but can someone explain to me what the villains’ plan was? Did they expect no one to see what we see? Did they not think that maybe waiting just a couple of months, instead of blindly rushing into the world like a crazy person would be more sensible? Did they not realize that if you’re going to commit a crime and get away with it Scott-free, you have to tie up your loose ends? To top it off, the final twist makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. If the film is implying what I think it’s implying, there's no way the character we see in the final shot could get away with what they’re thinking of doing... No one would buy it!
The biggest disappointment with Final Analysis is that it had such potential. It's erotic, twisty, the premise is engaging. Some of it's been done before but feels new here. Then the ending makes it all crumble. It’s like the screenwriter ran out of time and couldn’t decide which ending to use... so he used them all to be sure that the “good one” was there. The correct ending was about an hour and a half into the film. Anything after that is junk. I can see people enjoying Final Analysis, but it’s only a matter of time before you find a similar, better thriller to knock this one off of your “favorite film” list. (On VHS, December 21, 2014)
