★ 5 / 10
Pathological Intoxication and the Freudian Flower Arranging Theory
John Chard
Pathological Intoxication and the Freudian Flower Arranging Theory. Final Analysis is directed by Phil Joanou and written by Robert Berger and Wesley Strick.…
Pathological Intoxication and the Freudian Flower Arranging Theory.
Final Analysis is directed by Phil Joanou and written by Robert Berger and Wesley Strick. It stars Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts, Keith David, Paul Guilfoyle and Robert Harper. Music is by George Fenton and cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth.
A psychiatrist becomes romantically involved with the sister of one of his patients...
There comes a time in every film fan's life - those who commit to writing reviews, starting blogs etc - where you happen upon a film that you find oneself very much going against the general consensus grain, Final Analysis is one such film for myself. Not that it's a great under appreciated gem or anything like that, but revisiting some 25 plus years later I have found it to be far better than I found it back in the day.
Alfred Hitchcock is my absolute number one favourite director of all time, but I'm never closed off as many often are to any sort of homage or thematically charged movie in lieu of the great man. In fact I'm encouraged that he still influences modern day directors this way. It also helps me that for fifteen years I have buried myself in all things film noir, which has given me opportunities to pick out fine noirish traits in otherwise reviled films of the neo-noir type. Case for the defence closed then!.
Final Analysis is very Hitchcockian but lite, so much so it plays as "Vertigo's" illegitimate offspring. In fact it's even De Palma lite, who was one of the best exponents of Hitch type suspensers. It's a little clumsy at times and trips itself up, with director Joanou failing to build on the promise of his neo-noir of 1990 - the blistering "State of Grace". While stretching it out to a two hour run time by throwing twist after twist at it - when the writing isn't good enough to veer away from Hitchcock conventions, is a bad move.
However, the core basis of a film noir world painted here is quite vivid, with two femme fatales, Freudian splinters and many trawls down a murky dark lane of mystery. The look is terrific (various Calif locations), this does after all feature the work of the cinematographer who photographed "Blade Runner". There a numerous gorgeous shots, light filtered through slats, up tilts into spiral golds, sublime primaries, while the court room sequences are magnificently akin to something that "Roger Deakins" would achieve further down the line.
Cast performance wise it's not something to shout from the rooftops about, but nothing that hurts the pic. I'm a big fan of Gere, but here he's on auto-pilot, which is where Joanou should have earnt his corn. Basinger sexes it up and does good enough crafty, but it's a turn that doesn't come alive till late in the day, likewise Thurman in the sister role. David isn't in it enough and just seems to serve as a point of reference at various junctures, but faring much better are Roberts (super smarm charm with deadly heartbeats), and Guilfoyle as the lawyer balancing court determination with private yearnings.
I couldn't recommend with utter confidence, but I would suggest that neo-noir/Hitchcock fans may find a revisit more beneficial when picking through the bones of it. 7/10
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★ 6 / 10
A Hithcockian thriller about a psychiatrist who falls for the glamorous sister of one of his patients
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A San Francisco psychiatrist (Richard Gere) becomes romantically involved with the sister (Kim Basinger) of one of his patients (Uma Thurman) , but the…
A San Francisco psychiatrist (Richard Gere) becomes romantically involved with the sister (Kim Basinger) of one of his patients (Uma Thurman) , but the influence of her Greek controlling mobster husband (Eric Roberts) threatens to destroy them both . The gangster is a tyrant over his wife and he really mistreats her. The psychiatrist wants her to get a divorce, but she is afraid of what her husband would do. Then , things go wrong , that's why she has a medical condition that becomes apparent when she drinks . As she says to have a "pathological alcohol intoxication" which is a true real-life medical disorder that can exist. Along the way , a stubborn police inspector (Keith David) investigates some strange happenings and a prosecuting attorney (Harris Yulin) carries out the criminal accusation. Hot-blooded passion. Cold-blooded murder. Someone was seduced. Someone was set up. And before it was all over... someone was dead.
A twisted , glossy and complex thriller about a psychiatrist and two beautiful sisters playing the ultimate mind game . Resulting to be colorful crime thriller with suspense , emotion , action , twists and turns. Although heavily influenced by ¨Vertigo¨ , this movie never closes to attain the depth of Hitch cinematic masterpiece . Actors are acceptable but neither notable , nor extraordinary , but passable . Kim Basinger is the typical femme fatale who undergoes a dramatic personality change after drinking alcohol , Richard Gere acts in his particular style as
the psychiatrist uses his professional pull to try and help her out of the consequences of her actions , while Uma Thurman is Gere's sexually neurotic patient , the latter had also appeared in Phil Joanou's former movie "State of Grace" . Likewise , ¨Final Analysis¨ (1992) was second and final of two cinema movie collaborations of actor Richard Gere and actress Kim Basinger , the first was ¨No Mercy¨ (1986) . Other fine secondary actors appearing are the following ones : Paul Guilfoyle of CSI , Keith David , Tony Genaro , George Murdock as judge , unbilled Eric Avari as narrator and uncredited Harris Yulin as state prosecutor , among others . But it's Eric Roberts who steals the show giving the most gripping acting as Basinger's sleazy gangster hubby.
¨Final analysis¨packs a thrilling and suspenseful musical score by George Fenton. As well as an evocative and brilliant cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth. This neo-noir and neo-Hitchcock film was professionally directed by Phil Joanou , it has success enough , though quickly faded from screens after being steamrolled by other big releases . Phil Joanou is an uneven director with film as ¨Gridiron gang¨, ¨Final analysis¨ and ¨Heaven's prisoners¨. For the latter Phil Joanou was hired by Alec Baldwin , in his role as executive producer who approached Phil Joanou to direct the film based on the suggestion of his then-wife, Kim Basinger , who'd had a good time working with Joanou on ¨Final Analysis¨ (1992). Joanou is a good professional with hits and flops and filmmaker of video-clips and films for U2 (¨Rattle and hum¨). As "Final Analysis" and "Heaven's Prisoners" proved to be critical and financial disappointments , Spielberg and Bono of U2 (separately) encouraged Joanou to write something personal and from the heart, resulting in the extensively autobiographical "Entropy". In addition , Spielberg gave Joanou the screenplay for ¨Three O'Clock High¨ (1987), then known as "After School" and subsequently directing the notable ¨State of Grace¨with a great cast as Sean Penn , Ed Harris , Gary Oldman , among others . Rating : 6.5/10. Acceptable and passable. The flick will appeal to Kim Basinger/Richard Gere/Uma Thurman fans.
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One of my personal favorites! TY!