Customer Reviews

In the Cut (R-Rated Edition)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(75)

 

 

To be honest, I kind of thought the movie was going to be bad (I didn't like the book), but I went to see it anyway, since I learned that Jane Campion was the director. Having seen and loved her "Angel at my Table," "The Piano," and "Holy Smoke," I was interested in finding out why exactly this independent New Zealand director left Australia and went, so to speak, "Hollywood." Well, it turns out that Campion was only doing a favor for Nicole Kidman, who was going to play the lead role (Nic decided against it later on, and became one of the executive producers instead).

The film itself is gorgeous to look at, although the camera work is a bit shaky, and there are like... hundreds of meaningless close-ups that can drive you totally crazy. And guess what, Meg Ryan DOES take her top off (if you're interested in that sort of thing). But this movie is also very violent and brutal; I heard it almost got an NC-17 rating (our censors cut out a seven-minute chunk of footage with most shocking sex and violence and rated the film R).

Basically, the story is about a somewhat attractive English teacher named Franny (played by Ryan), who suddenly finds herself in the middle of a police investigation when a girl is found murdered near her house. The lead detective working on the case meets and talks to her, and she's instantly attracted. Then, to make things even more complicated (as if the sexually unruly relationship between her and the police officer wasn't enough), Franny remembers that she saw the dead girl somewhere before.

The story is quite interesting, though the ending is fairly simple and predictable. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who loves "romantic thrillers," but don't expect much from it. The acting is excellent (especially Ryan's), the cinematography is beautiful, the music is good, and the plot won't make you wanna yawn, and that's the important thing.

"In The Cut" is an adaptation of Susanna Moore's excellent novel of the same title, published in 1995. Director Jane Campion has departed significantly from the novel in several places, especially with the ending, but has managed to capture much of the book's eroticism, dark edginess, and palpable suspense.

Frannie Avery, superbly acted by Meg Ryan, is an attractive 35 year-old divorcee who lives in a two room apartment on Washington Square. She teaches creative writing at NYU to a group of inner-city teens. She is also a connoisseur and scholar of language and is writing a book on street slang and its derivatives. Frannie takes chances. She is a sexual risk taker. However, she lives in her own private world where she spends an incredible amount of time pondering the nature of language, which leaves her vulnerable to her surroundings...and reality. Frannie is not at all street savvy. And her nearsightedness allows her to disengage even more from the potentially dangerous world in which she lives. One late afternoon, in a neighborhood bar, she makes a trip to the ladies room and inadvertently walks-in on a couple engaged in an intimate act. The man's face is obscured by shadow but she does notice that he has a unique tattoo on the inside of his wrist. A few days later a NYC homicide detective, James E. Malloy (Mark Ruffalo), seeks Frannie out for an interview. There has been a brutal murder in the neighborhood. The victim is the woman Frannie saw performing the sex act in the bar. The evening Frannie saw her was her last.

Malloy takes risks also. He totally defies all rules about relationships between a detective and potential witness and acts on the tremendous sexual attraction between Frannie and himself. Malloy epitomizes the "tough guy with a badge," his frank blunt language adding to Frannie's turn-on. From the first, however, she knew that Malloy had a tattoo on his wrist - a tattoo she had seen once before.

Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Pauline, Frannie's spacey, obsessive half-sister and the person Frannie is closest to and loves. She lives above a topless bar in downtown Manhattan and the affection both women feel for the erotic dancers, the entire ambiance of the club and its proximity to their lives, reestablishes the sense of careless oblivion to danger. Together the two ponder the ups and downs of being female, discuss sexuality and romance and their father's many foibles.

Kevin Bacon is Frannie's off-the-wall ex-boyfriend who stalks her and maintains a threatening presence throughout. And Sharrieff Pugh is excellent as one of Frannie's brightest students who is fixated upon John Wayne Gacy.

Jane Campion, an extraordinary director, has not given us a typical mystery thriller about a vicious serial killer. "In The Cut" is more an exploration of the sexuality and inner life of an intelligent, creative, emotionally starved women approaching middle age. Detective Mallory's aggressive masculinity and the threat of the physical danger which surrounds her jar Frannie awake. The films portrays an urban environment of muted violence just waiting to explode and the colors and sounds of Campion's New York add to the building tension. There are some superbly staged sequences which give a hallucinatory, almost nightmarish quality to the scenes. The intense and honest performances really compensate for the movie's flaws. I found myself totally absorbed. Recommended - but be warned, this is not a movie for the sqeamish or faint of heart!
JANA

I just came back from watching this movie about an hour ago and wanted to write a review while it's still fresh in my mind. Before anything else, let me just say, Meg Ryan's performance is SPECTACULAR! It's nothing short of breathtaking. I think this is the performance of her career. Ryan boldly sheds her previously earned image as "Amercia's Sweetheart", and completely reinvents herself for this movie. This time, Ryan plays a quiet, sullen, reserved inner city schoolteacher; her character is a contradiciton, introverted and subdued yet at the same time just SEETHING with dark, delicious, pent-up sensuality. I mean, if you're a heterosexual male, you just GOTTA see her! Dayam! Ryan's character "Frannie" is complex and multifaceted, as is the film; it was a risk, but it works. As Eber said, Ryan's performance is utterly flawless. It by itself is completely worth the price of admission, and will direct all attention away from any inadequacies in the plot :-)

Okay, Meg Ryan aside, the movie was a solid thriller that kept me guessing all the way to the end. The obligate murders are gruesomely described, but actual gore on screen is kept at a tasteful minimum. The plot at times border on derivative and uninspired for this genre, but by and large it was tight enough to serve as an adequate vehicle for Ms. Ryan to burn the screen with her presence. (I know, I promise to stop ranting about her).

Director Jane Campion did an outstanding job with the cinematography and the general feel of the film. For example, the camera is deliberately out of focus around the edges during certain scenes, giving the film a surrealistic, dreamy yet visceral feel. Again, this was a risk that surprisingly worked for me. Symbolism in the film is rich and beautiful, especially the poetry written on the subway train walls, read by Ryan's sultry voice in her mind.

And finally, I'd just like to mention that Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is also a dangerously skilled actress (just watch "Single White Female" or "Washington Square") was tragically underused in this film. At her best, Leigh is every bit as good an actress as Ryan, but she simply wasn't given the chance to shine in this movie. For the role of Frannie's sister Pauline, a lesser actress would have done the job, which could have been done instead of wasting Leigh's precious time :-) But I'm still always glad to see her on screen as well.

In closing, if you're even remotely a fan of Meg Ryan, go see this film now! Don't wait, do it now! You WON'T be disappointed. Oh man, Meg Ryan will be in my dreams tonight... ;-)

I must confess, that Susanna Moore's novella is probably one of the most memorable books that I've ever read. I loved its raw sexual intensity, its dark, dangerous sexual underworld, and the fact that it never compromised and shied away from the smut-ridden side of life. This movie version, directed by Jane Campion, and starring Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo is, from the outset, a pretty accurate account of the book. But I'm in two minds about this movie - there is no doubt that it's an honest portrayal of graphic sleaze, but the movie ultimately suffers from a kind of arty pretentiousness, and a monotone, almost dazed performance by Meg Ryan. The movie isn't as bad as all the critics are saying it is, but it will probably only remain memorable for no other reason than as a showpiece for Meg's boobs and lank hair.

In the Cut offers a psychological character study wrapped in a murder mystery, where the identity of the villain is not the focus of the movie. The film does have an unconventional power and there is certainly some depth and innovation - witness New York burnished in vibrant colours of burnt orange and gold. Meg Ryan is Frannie Thurston, an accomplished English professor and intelligent lover of words. She discovers that she has a sexual hunger that has gone unsatisfied for too long, when one afternoon, while tutoring one of her students, she wanders into the dimly lit basement of a club and happens upon a man and woman having oral sex.

She notices that the woman has long blue fingernails and the man, an unusual tattoo. Shortly thereafter, she is told there is a serial killer on the loose and that parts of the latest victim were found in her own garden As the killer threatens to strike again, she discovers that the murder victim had blue fingernails and that Detective Giovanni Malloy (Mark Ruffalo), the policeman who's investigating the crime, has the same tattoo on exactly the same part of his body. As Frannie becomes involved with Malloy her pent-up sex drive gets a sudden fetishistic jump-start of its own. She can't stop her dangerous sexual relationship with Malloy even though she suspects that he may well be the psychopath.

So Meg and Mark appear nude in several important scenes, and they have sex in her strangely lit, shadowy and out-of focus apartment. And although Meg's nudity is somewhat contrived, she does a good job during the first half of the film with an understated, subtle performance. Frannie is a complex, desperate, but flawed character, and Ryan effectively shows her naivety, and at times, stupidity. She knows her relationship with Malloy is inappropriate, but she gains a sort of carnal satisfaction and internal strength from her own newly discovered masochism. Mark Ruffalo is terrific as Malloy - he has a gruff sexiness, a blue-collar chic and suave, seductive coolness that is absolutely riveting to watch. Jennifer Jason Lee is also pretty good as Fannie's tortured sister Pauline. Leigh brings compassion and a quiet sadness to Pauline, whose desperate attempts to find her one true love has gotten stalking charges put on her.

The camerawork is, at times, too jittery and self consciously arty. And people are constantly bathed in dark hues, so sometimes it's a struggle to see what is going on. Frannie also does some really silly things, like wondering along deserted, garbage-strewn back alleys late at night when she's already been told that a serial killer is on the loose. In the Cut may be nothing more than a kinky, R-rated romp, a late night soft-core porn thriller masquerading as an art piece. Yet, with all its sexual provocativeness, there is something definitely likable about the film - this viewer, however, is still not quite sure what it is. Mike Leonard August 04.

Susanna Moore wrote an exquisite murder/suspense/erotic novel, "In the Cut". Jane Campion directed an erratic movie. Meg Ryan plays Frannie Avery, a 30 something, creative writing professor. She lives and works in bohemian Manhattan. Frannie has her own personal demons and emptiness. One evening she stops in at a bar with one of her students, and is witness to an erotic act between a woman and a man who has a striking arm tatoo. A few days later, Detective Mallory, the man with the tatoo, played by handsome and dark Mark Ruffalo, stops by to discuss a woman's murder in Frannie's neighborhood. This is the first step into the abyss of sexual intrigue and erotic vulnerability for Frannie. Her affair with Det. Mallory takes off and through this affair the movie takes on a powerful and harsh mystique. The movie itself is lurid and lifeless. Meg Ryan's performance is strong but doesn't fit this movie. The movie is not entertaining- the emptiness of the main character has spilled onto the screen and takes over the movie. The murder/suspense you expect is missing- the ending is sudden and corrupt. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Pauline, Frannie's sister and her performance is stilted at best. Nicole Kidman is a producer of the movie, a little revealed fact. The movie will sell well in DVD form if only for the nude Meg Ryan scene and the erotic acts portrayed. Susanna Moore deserved better.prisrob

The movie was a great surprise to me and my friends when we went to see it. At first it appeared to be a typical independent type movie, with the usual expectation of a rather depressing outlook on life accompanied with a very raw cinematography, and usually little hope for a happy ending. However this is the first film I've seen that successfully incorporates the rawness and up front honesty of the characters lives, combined with the great, well written storyline and wonderful acting. And the cinematography, although raw, provided some beautiful scenes, and the symbolism and use of focus put the viewer in Franny's mindset of a very creative person, who doesn't see life through typical eyes. It was quite `trippy' and I found it to be very original.

The movie centralises around Franny (Meg Ryan) and her encounter with a police detective (Mark Ruffalo) after she witnesses something that might be important to a murder that is committed. At first it seems that it would be impossible for a relationship to begin between the two but as the movie progresses a surprisingly sweet love story plays out. I first thought that the writers had resigned to a predictable `who done it' in order to focus on the relationship that was blossoming, however I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't realise who the killer was, till it was actually revealed to the audience.

Meg Ryan's performance was brilliant and she really pulls off the change of image well!! And Mark Ruffalo was so magnetic, you can really fall in love with him. His character has a rough surface with a sweet caring middle and Mark Ruffalo really portrays this perfectly.

In The Cut was very dark, yet very enjoyable and satisfying. It has a beautiful balance of eroticism, romance and thriller. My friends and I honestly couldn't stop talking about it for at least three days and we've seen it many times since and still love it!! I've recommended this movie to all my friends!

A disturbing mood, disjointed photography, and a puzzle hold the interest for a while, but the ending is a disappointment. Not a nice guy in the whole movie, and why does she stay with the one she ends up with. Men have to be chained up to be trusted. You'll see what I mean.

I watched this film because I am a fan of thrillers, I didn't think I would enjoy it because of Meg Ryan (who I thought was a very one dimensional actor - how wrong was I?) and I also didn't think that Mark Ruffallo was your typical leading man, definatly not someone I would have been attracted to - so I thought well....
The movie was fantastic, Meg Ryan is anything but one dimensional in this film! she showed a depth as an actress that I think we rarely see. Mark made his character Giovanni, increadibly erotic and sexy - and I was hooked watching to see how this unusual (yet far more realistic than most hollywood love affairs) love affair would progress. The thriller side of it I found also very enjoyable, I loved the way that the tension is built. All the characters were either suspects or potential victims, although I knew from the begginning it couldn't be the student, I oscillated around suspecting all the characters at some point. Jane Campion is a fantastic director, and has handled her debut into film noir with grace and sophistication. Even the much talked about fellatio scene was well lit and very artistic. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie, and felt compelled to watch it again immediatly after. I have seen this movie five times now, and every time I watch it I get something different out of it. I think it is one of those films that you either love or hate, but it is well worth watching.

I expected little from this film after the scathing reviews it received. But, I thought, there was the promise of Meg Ryan in the altogether, and frank explicit sexuality. Why not rent it? There are worse ways to spend a rainy day! To my surprise, I found the movie very engrossing and well-made. The sex scene in the bar was quite erotic -- it's rare Hollywood shows you even snippets of full-blown fellatio (pardon the pun). The scene was as outrageous and stimulating as the notorius oral sex sequence in the old Italian film, "Devil in the Flesh." While Meg was a mere observer to this graphic act, the fact that the "boundary line" was crossed -- that between mainstream cinema and porn -- intrigues me. What might be next if Hollywood takes this direction? Are movies nearing a threshold like that in the 1960s after which every R-rated film exposes female breasts as a matter of course? Let's hope so. Anyway, the intimate scenes with Meg and Mark Ruffalo, while not as blatantly explicit, were pretty darn good, and invite scrutiny. There seemed few fake moves; no body doubles, no arty cuts to reduce the impact of the bodies naked. Applause!

The sex aside, "In The Cut" featured very good performances from all the actors (Ryan, Ruffalo, Kevin Bacon, brushing up against his acting limitations, yet still interesting, and Jennifer Jason-Leigh, who could use a diet and looked stoned in the DVD extras), and was directed with a poetic style, albeit with obvious symbolism. The cinematography was appropriately dark, and the seaminess of NYC was integrated nicely into the story. But about the story: entirely predictable, sort of a pulpy film noir from 60 years ago when such things, filmed in black and white, were new. Some sex talk was forced -- there's a laughable phone-sex call between Ruffalo and Ryan which must have had the crew in stitches when filmed -- an obvious attempt to shock, to be "adult." Yet again, I realize this racy albeit salacious material is not the stuff of ordinary Hollywood cinema -- maybe that's the point, to introduce a new realism, even if the attempt is awkward. Back to the plot. I am no rocket scientist but I figured out early who the killer was (watch the fellatio scene closely -- you'll see). Nevertheless, I wasn't completely certain (especially as the Ruffalo detective has a notable psycho tinge to him, as if he's hiding an unglued personality), and that mystery kept me gripped to the end.

I ask you this: why has the film, rather slight in its drama, and almost cliched, been subject to so much vitriole? Why do people care? By comparison, "9 1/2 Weeks" or "Basic Instinct," with objectionable content at the time, got off (pardon the pun, again) much easier with critics. I think it's because "In The Cut" has touched a raw nerve, having to do with a high profile female star and an Academy Award winning female director tackling typically male subject matter. It doesn't seem tasteful, when 19th century Merchant-Ivory-like films beckon to be made, or funny romances between modern, wise-cracking neurotics. And too I think people like their porn as porn, and their Meg Ryan as the sparky bright-eyed doe she was in "When Harry Met Sally." Expectations are foiled. Maybe the director should be given kudos for rattling cages?

Frannie (Meg Ryan) is a depressed and homely (in a beatifully and naturally, potentially untapped sorta way) English teacher troubled by emotional issues and demons of the past. She fantasizes and dreams of passion to escape her everyday dreary existence. She almost represents the saint by day sinner by night persona who soon becomes sexually involved with a hard edged,uncouth, take no crap detective investigating a series of gruesome murders.Malloy is overconfident, cocky and arrogant yet has his soft side or spot for Frannie. She is questioned by detective Malloy after a "piece" of evidence ends up in her garden from one of the murders. As the investigation progresses, the two embark on a relationship that will raise eyebrows and pulses. However, as the story advances or relationship progresses there are clues that begin to make Frannie suspect and accuse Malloy of the murders.

Despite it's strong sexual nature, there is a plot or story. Albeit a very predictable one that is overshadowed by the strong and disturbing performances by most of the cast. This is a good thing because this will anchor viewers to an otherwise Hannibal Lecter or Seven wannabe film. Seems everyone in In The Cut has some serious psychological, psychosexual or emotional issues that need working out. This is a film where it is very difficult to feel compassion for any of the characters despite their woes or troubles.They have become bitter, hardened, lonely and isolated in some ways with a dark and brooding unseething nature. This is not one of those films where you can say "I like her character or persona"---Beware, most of these characters are not likeable in the least sense of the word.What director Campion of In The Cut accomplishes is to show that the characters do not live polished and perfected lives by Hollywood glamorized or perfect family American value standards. It shows human beings with serious and traumatic emotional and psychological problems (this is past Psychology 101---more like 102). It shows human beings in their most vulnerable and somewhat tortured existence...Therefore , this will be a disturbing film to some.

Other than making viewers develop vertigo from the camera lens jumping around, In The Cut served more as a vehicle for Meg Ryan to finally shed her "America's Sweetheart" image (or is that Julia Robert's title). Dark and dreary doesn't even begin to describe the atmosphere of the film. More like morose.Did I mention bloody or gory? Is the plot or story predicatble and simple? You bet. Don't try to read or search for a deeper meaning because there is none other than to see some fine acting talent. The acting is what will entice the viewer to see Ryan's tremendous performance and character live out her almost obsessive psycho-sexual indulgences or fantasies as an opressed and depressed English teacher. Trust me, Ryan sheds more than her upbeat usual acting gig in this film. This project's atmosphere and characters are best described as grimy and grungy and all seem to have a sleaze factor and some sort of emotional or psychological issue/s. The sexual nature of the film and language is very candid or explicit and not at all what most people would think of as a thriller with a soft romantic or passionate side between the two main characters. Still, I will give In The Cut 3 stars for the excellent performances by it's own stars. As for the story or plot many will be disappointed. What disapponted me the most is the lack of depth of the psychological thriller/mystery portion of the film and it's high predictability simplistic level. It just wrapped up suddenly, too neat and tidy in the end (though it was bloody)...