Dangerous, angry women are popping up in films all over the place-”The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” ”Thelma & Louise,” and now, ”Final Analysis.”
Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is a highly successful but somewhat reclusive San Francisco psychiatrist. In the course of treating a beautiful, disturbed young lady (Uma Thurman), he begins an affair with her sister (Kim Basinger)
and becomes embroiled in the murder of her abusive gangster husband (Eric Roberts), all while single-handedly violating every clause of the Hippocratic Oath.
”Final Analysis” is riddled with faults. The performances although occasionally engaging (Roberts stands out) are generally fairly poor, and the script, score and cinematography (bring a flashlight for all the low-light scenes) are consistently subpar. The conclusion, which I suspect was supposed to be in the vein of Hitchcock`s ”Vertigo,” ends up closer to Mel Brooks`
”High Anxiety.” ”Final Analysis” is not all bad, however; the plot is intriguingly complex, and a few of the supporting characters are enjoyable. It`s also refreshing to see Kim Basinger grow as an actress: Where she was previously limited to sex in a clock tower (”9 1/2 Weeks”) she is now, in
”Final Analysis,” able to have sex in a lighthouse. Makes me wish I weren`t afraid of heights. (STAR)(STAR)
