With his latest role as a memory editor in the sci-fi thriller “The Final Cut,” Robin Williams continues a string of films delving into the darker side of human nature — a pattern he may soon be ready to break.
“I think from here I’d like to do ‘Einstein on Ice,”’ Williams joked to reporters Wednesday after the movie’s premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. His other recent darker roles include “Insomnia,” “Death to Smoochy” and “One Hour Photo.”
But before Williams laces up his skates and hits the rink, he’ll be seen in theaters as Alan Hackman, a so-called “cutter” charged with editing people’s memories and compiling them into a best-of reel shown at their funerals.
Hackman is responsible for taking on the toughest cases. He sorts through the memories, downloaded after death from a chip installed at birth, of his company’s clients and prepares a PG-version ready for viewing by spouses, parents, children and friends.
“He’s a bit like a combination mortician and priest,” Williams said.
Hackman leads a life removed from the people whose memories he vets, but that veneer begins to crack when he sees a scene from a client’s life that challenges his own memories of the past.
“The Final Cut,” directed by Omar Naim, co-stars Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel. It’s one of 23 films competing for prizes at the Berlin festival, which ends Sunday.