Final Analysis

Plot synopsis:
Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is a top-notch, San Francisco-based Freudian psychiatrist, who has Diana Baylor (Uma Thurman) on the patient's couch. He is treating her for frightening and horrific childhood memories, which include images of her drunken father and his death in a fire for which she wasn't blamed.
One night, Heather Evans (Kim Basinger) enters Barr's office and says that she is Diana's sister. She asks Barr for information about her sister's case. It is implied, as part of the treatment, that Isaac speak to Heather to find out more about her sister's past experiences and determine if she might provide information that Diana has forgotten.
Not long after, Heather seduces Isaac, and a steamy affair follows. However, there is a problem—Heather is married to Jimmy Evans (Eric Roberts), a violent and wealthy Greek gangster. She also has a way of embarrassing Jimmy in public by taking a sip of wine and then flipping into an attack of "pathological intoxication", which can end with the restaurant in shambles.
It turns out that Heather is trying to involve unsuspecting Isaac in a plan to murder Jimmy and collect a $4 million double indemnity life insurance policy on him. She is also using Diana as bait and wants Isaac framed for the murder.

Tags: murder

Review:
Now this fella in all his psychotherapeutic wisdom acts like a 5 year old and takes this film literally and passes judgment on Gere's character's psychiatric practices.
And then you have the main trio, Richard Gere and Kim Basinger in their prime, and Uma Thurman in one of her budding roles.
She plays a very complex character here and there's not a single scene where she's not mesmerizing...An all too brief nod -for no other reason than brevity for this review- to Uma and the rest of the cast, I ll just say that the scenes with Uma on the couch have such a suspenseful and seductive mood, the way she phrases her dream and looks at the shrink, Uma another natural talent.I also really liked the directing here but the 1000 word limit calls.
It's a pity this film doesn't get a higher rating on IMDb. Richard Gere, Kim Basinger and Uma Thurman do a good job too.
The two leads, Gere and Basinger, do a solid but routine job in their roles; it's the secondary characters who give this film a life of its own: Eric Roberts (an outstanding performance) as the edgy husband, Uma Thurman as the patient (whose character is the only one who remains an enigma right to the end), the detective who keeps making insinuations, Gere's colleague who gets panicky when he has to testify, etc.
This film, if analyzed visually is quite interesting, and the addition of a distinguished Richard Gere and still- beautiful Kim Basinger doesn't hurt, either.The sets are reminiscent of Hitchcock's "Vertigo"; there is even a scene with violets, right out of Freudian analysis, which Gere translates for his unsuspecting patient.Uma Thurman is Basinger's younger sister, there is a murder accusation, Eric Roberts as the abusive husband, ends up being murdered.
For some reason Basinger is better in under-stated roles, and Richard Gere transcends the material, and is interesting to watch.
Gere looks a bit ill-at-ease, but Basinger and Uma Thurman are both very good.
This is a wonderful thriller about a psychiatrist (Richard Gere) that begins an affair with the sister (Kim Basinger) of one of his patients (Uma Thurman).
It might help to explain points of my review by giving some background information.I am a counseling psychologist and psychotherapist,with 20 years experience.Watching this film initially,in February 1992,almost contributed to a heart attack.Whoever did the screenplay to this atrocity hadn't the faintest idea of what constitutes appropriate clinical practice.Dr.Isaac Barr muffs the handling of this case from the onset.One wonders as to how he got through his psychiatric residency,let alone his training analysis,supervised cases,and what was going on in his personal analysis at this time?The pathological antics indulged in in this film would cause anybody else to get into serious trouble BIGTIME with the local psychoananlytic association,the American Psychoanalytic,the American Psychiatric,the AMA,and the State Board of Medicine.People have had licenses suspended for less.Where do we begin the critique?Let's start.A woman enters into Barr's office one night,claims to be a client's sister,and starts pumping Barr for information.He complies with her request.Now wait a darn minute-if I came into the office,claimed that I was the sister(I am 48 years old and have a full beard),would he give me the same courtesy?I seriously doubt it.You never release ANY information without having the client sign a specific release of information,with details as to who the data is going to.Barr could get sued out the wazoo for a stunt like this-and he'd deserve it.Then he and Heather go out to have coffee and discuss the case.You NEVER engage in professional activities outside of the work setting-your malpractice insurance won't cover it,and if something should go awry,won't assume any financial liabilities.Then,Barr and Heather end up making love-but it isn't love.This is not a relationship between equals,it's countertransference getting out of hand.She's extremely vulnerable emotionally(not really,but you're led to think that she is)and it is Barr's responsibility not to exploit a needy person.The onus is on the therapist to respect the boundaries.Barr is acting on his pathologically needy state,rather than reflecting as to what is going on.Dr. Lowenthal,upon being made aware of this situation,should have insisted that Barr re-enter therapy at once,and establish a supervisory relationship pronto.Noncompliance would involve informing the authorities.The Freudian psychoanalysts are very careful about not contaminating a therapeutic relationship,and this involve getting involved with family members of their patients.Barr should have refused to have anything to do with Heather AT ONCE.I wonder if the screenplay writers wanted to do a hatchet job on the psychiatric profession..
Richard Gere,(Isaac Barr)," Shall We Dance",'04, was a doctor who was treating sexy Uma Thurman,(Diane Baylor),"Chelsea Walls",'01, who was beginning to fall in love with Isaac until he meets Kim Basinger,(Heather Evans),"Cellular",'04.
Now, in conclusion, I highly recommend this excellent, sexy, edge-of-your seat romantic thriller to any Richard Gere or Kim Basinger fan who hasn't seen it.
Time and again, I was completely bowled over by the plot developments - and the climax is frankly better than any I can think of in any Hitchcock movie outside of The Man Who Knew Too Much.I just loved it.
I liked the development of this movie because it all starts very slowly but then you see how perfectly Kim Basinger has planed her murder.
Beside Eric Roberts, who is always good as bad guy, all other actors are just acting it through (Gere was awful, Basinger funny when she tried to be bad and Thurman had nothing to act).
I wondered what he meant by that - until I watched it.Hitchcockian in style and presentation, "Final Analysis" is the story of Dr. Isaac Barr (Richard Gere), a psychiatrist who ill-advisedly falls for the married sister, Heather (Kim Basinger), of one of his patients, Diane (Uma Thurman).
Isaac does everything within his power to exonerate her, but the more he learns behind her family's history and about her, the more he wishes he didn't - leading to the film's revealing climax.I felt this was one of the better psychological thrillers made back in the 90's with good performances, though some of it was over-the-top, but holds well even today.
Gere plays a psychiatrist, and he isn't bad, as is Basinger as the murderess, where I like Thurman's enigmatic and twisted performance more.
This film presents something of a dilemma, on the one hand it is an original, psychologically clever and rather twisted with a rather intriguing climax and on the other it is presented as a typical early 90s generic Hollywoodized Basinger/Gere cliché.
Uma Thurman equally did rather well although with a little more detachment but Richard Gere seemed remote and rather emotionless despite all the things that happened to him like he was in a trance the whole way through.Again, the plot, the actual idea is very clever.
Take away the clichés and some of the average made-for-TV male performances, and step back a bit and this is actually quite a good film, Basinger giving one of the performances of her life stepping out of her usual totally innocent and just eye-candy comfort zone and the which sister did what aspect you are left which is rather clever..
Enter the aforementioned patient's bombshell (but un-happily married) sister (Kim Basinger) along with her "Greek Orthodox gangster" husband (Eric Roberts), and let the thinly-veiled intrigue begin!!
right from its opening credits,final analysis takes u to the mystico-glamorous era of those amazing films noirs of the 50's..the breathtaking settings,the glamorous but twisted blonde,the haunting yet chilling score echoing Bernard Hermann's Hitchcock era.the movie has a classy feel to it.sparks fly when Kim basinger makes her appearance,in a red dress a la Grace kelly.uma Thurman is very good in her role,and keeps her enigmatic facade till the end.if u're familiar with Hitchcock's Vertigo,u will find its echoes,similar settings and landmarks of san Francisco serving as background to this solid thriller.i've seen many movies of this genre,i've seen vertigo,obsession,basic instinct,and many more.this movie is UNDERRATED.it's one of the best in its genre!.
Kim Basinger's character was entertaining (and creepy!) but not much to Uma Thurman's except at the very end, that gave me chills!
A deadpan Richard Gere, who plays a psychiatrist, gets involved with the sister(Kim Basinger)of one of his patients(Uma Thurman).
Totally unoriginal, although this is still watchable, thanks to good acting by Basinger, Thurman and Eric Roberts..
However, my wife likes that kind of thing, and for that reason the powers above have endowed some of us men with a dosis of patience, or at least with not having anything else to do at that precise moment; so you clasp her hand and wait earnestly for `The End' and all those credits which, today, most channels cut off, anyway.So there you have it: Gere, Basinger and Thurman, all together, having a bit of fun for their pay-cheques, and millions of obliging cinema-goers and TV-watchers obediently put on their intelligent masks of appreciation and understanding, and take another sip at their beer/Martini/Whisky/Cognac/Champagne/Daiquiri/Tequila/Coca-cola or whatever else there may be at their elbows.
Such cliched piddle, often sounding back to things like `Dallas' or `Falcon Crest', is fodder for the gaping masses, and as Richard Gere struggles with trying to assume feelings totally beyond him, one takes a rather more generous sip, lights another cigarette and stares at a crack in the wall above and to the left of the giant Samsung Tantus Flat Panel Plasma Screen three and a half metres away and which you swear was not there a few days ago  the crack, I mean.And as it all flopped its way to a climax, or something like that, and I am still wondering why the over-18s logo, with accompanying orchestral scurries which might have been from Panic in the Tunnel (definitely no qv) or any other of the ilk seeking arbitrarily to increase potential feelings of excitement precisely because neither the story-line nor the acting would excite the imaginitive possibilities of a chimpanzee, I find that all the most minimum ideas in my head have frozen up solid.
San Francisco psychiatrist Dr. Isaac Barr, Richard Gere, gets a surprise visit one afternoon by Diana's older sister Heather Evens, who's such a knockout that it causes Issac to forget his client's, Diana , illness.Heather, very concerned about her kid sister, tells Issac a number of things that Diana kept from him which included the very disturbing fact that she was constantly raped by her father.
The movie then takes a sudden turn with Issac falling in love with Heather and, as if he completely forgot about her disturbed sister, stating to treat her for psychological problems as if she were his patient not his lover!It's during Issac' treatment, and affair, with Heather that he learns that she's married to a top San Francisco mobster named jimmy Evens, Eric Roberts.
Even more sinister Heather is using her sister Diana as bait to do it!Overly complicated psychological thriller that's saved from total ruin by the acting of it's top stars Richard Gere Uma Thruman and the very sexy, and hot as a steam engine, Kim Bassinger.
There's three great scenes in the movie "Final Analysis" that are more then worth the price of admission.****SPOILER**** The first being where Heather is being questioned, with Isaac present, in the mental institution that she's committed.
That scene in itself should have earned Kim Basinger an Academy Award nomination for best actress.There's an even better scene in the movie later on when Heather, changing places with Diana in prison, escapes and tries to get in touch with Det. Higgens, Keith David, in order to give him the murder weapon that she used to kill her husbands with Isaac's fingerprints on it.
Richard Gere is a totally unbelievable analyst, Kim Basinger is firmly ensconced in her paper bag, and only Eric Roberts delivers anything approaching a good performance.
Psychiatrist Dr. Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is treating Diana Baylor (Uma Thurman).
Basinger, Thurman's sister, approaches Gere to try and shed some light on her sister's condition and the two of them start a relationship.That's just the beginning in a rather elaborate Hitchcockian plot that is for the most part very suspenseful but rather slow moving.
Stylish director Joanou keeps the film very interesting on a visual level, many wonderful eye candy moments.The story, written by Wesley Strick, has a few unexpected twists and turns but is somehow rather predictable, especially for a seasoned thriller and murder mystery fan.
The writers never let realism or credibility get in the way of another plot twist or suspense-wracked set-piece.Richard Gere is on autopilot here and rather bland with it: there's nothing much to like about his boring character, and he's played the same role (of a guy falling head over heels for a pretty girl) so many times that he seems bored.
It's also one of the most visually stunning neo-noirs ever made and in this context, the contributions of art director Dean Tavoularis and cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth are very significant and worthy of high praise.The opening credit sequence immediately makes it clear that "Final Analysis" is influenced both in its style and content by some of the great film noirs of the past (most notably "Vertigo" but also to a lesser extent "Double Indemnity" and "A Place In The Sun") and in common with these types of movies, it contains a typically gullible man, numerous double crosses and characters with unclear motives who may not be all that they seem.Dr Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is an eminent psychiatrist who regularly acts as an expert defence witness in court cases where the accused pleads insanity in order to avoid a heavy sentence.
Barr is initially reluctant to take up Diana's suggestion but when he subsequently meets her sister, Heather Evans (Kim Basinger), the couple soon become involved in a passionate affair.Heather is unhappily married to a sadistic gangster called Jimmy Evans (Eric Roberts) and also suffers from a condition called "pathological intoxication" which makes her become crazy and violent when she consumes even a very small amount of alcohol.
Dr Barr goes off the rails spectacularly when he gets involved with Heather and breaches the rules of his profession without any apparent concern.Kim Basinger and Uma Thurman are both good as the treacherous and devious sisters and Eric Roberts is especially effective as the vicious and fiercely jealous victim.This glamorous thriller is well written with some very quotable lines and is extremely easy of the eye.
What might have been even more effective with a better script is this dark melodrama which seems to borrow heavily from past psychological melodramas--particularly those films of Hitchcock which rely on such settings as the final showdown between Gere and Basinger.
But Uma Thurman and Eric Roberts deliver what can only be described as "creepy" portraits that linger in the mind after the film ends.
She conveys soft, placid (if overly simple) beauty one minute and psychotic rage the next, rivaling Catherine Zeta-Jones' in "Traffic" in her ability to turn memorably driven, tough, and hard-hearted on a dime.Uma Thurman looks and acts her slight part adequately enough as Basinger's delicate, spaced-out sister, a patient of Richard Gere.
She uses psychiatric data to justify murdering her husband, and if things don't go her way, she can always blame her sister's psychiatrist, played by Gere, who gives a restrained but compelling performance..
It's a bit on the long and slow side, but it's methodically plotted and skillfully directed (the early scenes feel kind of cramped, but Phil Joanou makes good use of the San Francisco locations later on and stages a fairly exciting finale).
Well sadly it still fails to grab me with any urgency and still comes across as a poor mans Hitchcock movie, and one the big man probably would of discarded himself.The story works on a basic thriller level, and some decent sequences are worth the 5/10 rating that I give the film, but the film suffers for drawing out the characters far too long in the first hour, and then killing off the best character on show, I mean sure everyone loves a bad guy but here Eric Roberts villain turn is the shining light, and it leaves such a hole in the film when he departs it never manages to recover.
Deliberately lurid, overwrought, and sleazy, Phil Joanou's "Final Analysis" plays best if you pretend it's a black and white psycho-sexual noir from the 1950s; the kind of pulpy B movie routinely rendered classy by guys like Fritz Lang or Alfred Hitchcock ("Rebecca", "Vertigo", "Notorious" etc).Joanou's no Hitchcock, of course, but his compositions are brilliant in the way they emphasize clean lines and geometric shapes, and the film's cinematography, by the legendary Jordan Cronenweth (Blade Runner), is also very special."Final Analysis'" plot is standard of the genre - Richard Gere plays a poor schmuck who may or may not be at the mercy of two sisters (Uma Thurman and Kim Basinger) who may or may not be femme fatales – but the film is aiming for familiarity.
You would think that with all the people in Hollywood who have undergone psychoanalysis, they would be able to depict a more believable shrink than the one in this film - Isaac Barr, played by Richard Gere.
Another downside of the film is the dirty language, which just does not go with the Hitchcockian territory we're in; this criticism also applies to an unpleasant sex scene between Kim Basinger's Heather Evans and her husband played by Eric Roberts.
Personally, I am inclined to be less harsh about the acting performances of Gere, Basinger and Uma Thurman than some of the other comments posted on IMDb. In the absence of effective lines and scenes, few actors can create convincing characters.
In this film I felt like we oughta check her pulse to make sure she's still alive.Even Richard Gere here seems less than totally involved.
Gere decides to consult Thurman's sister -- Kim Basinger -- who is crazy as batshite.