Roger Waters concept criticizing Thatcherism and UK's involvement in the Falklands War in the Pink Floyd's album "The Final Cut" is also used in this movie as well, with the songwriter analyzing facts from his period and also a look back at WWII, as evidenced by his "alter-ago" represented by Alex McAvoy - the nasty teacher from "The Wall". This time, McAvoy plays a good character, saddened by the world he's living, no longer the nation he used to live and know. The recurring images of his father who died in World War II are just a way to contrast his idea of patriotism, he's sad because he lost his father but he can accept that it was for a noble cause, quite opposite to what he thinks was happening with the Falklands war. He can't be patriotic with that. And so, the teacher tries to find ways to overcome this pessimistic moment.
The movie comprises four songs from the album in one continuous way reflecting on Waters criticisms of England during the 1980's. They are 'The Gunner's Dream', 'The Final Cut', 'Not Now John' and 'The Fletcher Memorial Home'. The images that follow them compensate the soundtrack's lack of greatness, with memorable sequences such as the old man dreaming of killing political leaders gathered on an asylum; or the countless real archive footage used during one of the tracks. Gladly, the lyrics go in tune with the images.
Though being a fan of Pink Floyd, I don't know much about their album "The Final Cut", except that it was mostly a Roger Waters effort, to the point of leaving all the other members (except Richard Wright who wasn't there) behind a wall that later on dismantled the band that kept on without Waters. The brief medley of songs presented in the film left me unimpressed and not even feeling like listening to Floyd tracks - except the great 'Not Now John' but that song sounds like being a rejected track from "The Wall".
Despite the minor derailments along the way, "The Final Cut" deserves to be seen. It accomplishes its mission of portraying valid criticism, though very early in time considering Thatcher was only four years in power, so it goes to show that Waters was a pioneer in making remarks on her; and above that, the movie has an excellent performance, credit must be given to Mr. Alex McAvoy who goes on a complete different direction from what he played in Alan Parker's film. I'd never imagine that he could generate sympathy after playing an unforgettable loud tyrant ("Poems, everybody!") in "The Wall" (if you haven't seen it, at least you probably know the clip taken from it). He doesn't say a word but manages to express a lot with his face and his eyes, conveying plenty of emotion without excess, going in plenty of directions, full of double meanings and it's up to us to discover what's inside his head. A poetic performance! 8/10
