In The Cut - 2003

Movie #139

2.5 stars

Frannie (Meg Ryan) is a New York writing professor entwined in an erotic affair with a police detective (Mark Ruffalo) who's investigating the murder of a young woman in Frannie's neighborhood. But soon Frannie begins to suspect her lover's involvement in the crime.
Cast: Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kevin Bacon, Nick Damici, Sharrieff Pugh
Director: Jane Campion

Tagline: Everything you know about desire is dead wrong

Revised Tagline: If you think this movie looks good then you are dead wrong.

Filming Location: NYC...at least this gave the viewers something interesting to look at.

Wow...what can I even say about this one. It is categorized as a thriller...and yes...the plot shows hints of a thriller but deep down this movie is more like an HBO porn...that just has a tiny bit more of a storyline.

Meg Ryan commenting on the nudity and sex in In the Cut: "You don't go, 'Wow! I get to do a nude scene.' But I love the sex scene in this movie. It was scary, honest and raw. But people could find my body very unattractive. There could be a backlash against it".

scary...check...honest...hmmm....raw...well that scene in the bathroom of the bar sure was raw.

The movie (notice the lack of the word film) could have had potential...well not really now that I think about it. The most interesting character was Pauline, Meg Ryan's sister, that was played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. But other than that the characters were uninteresting. And what was the point of Kevin Bacon? I guess he just wanted to increase his 6 degrees of separation.

Interesting to note: Meg Ryan lost the lead role in Washington Square (1997) to Jennifer Jason Leigh


Nicole Kidman was originally supposed to star in the movie but dropped out because she was going through her divorce with Tom Cruise. She thought it would be to hard....emotionally. What? Are we sure that Tom Cruise isn't the only looney tune.

I can't really think of anything else to say...so I'll borrow some words from BBC's review of this fine "film"

Unfortunately, in a story chiefly concerned with the inner-life of its anti-heroine, the suspense factor is almost as lax as Frannie's knicker elastic. It would matter less if the complexity of her dilemma was more tangible; instead Campion substitutes unsettling visuals for genuine mystery.

While it is bold, ambitious and often striking, In The Cut isn't as incisive as it pretends to be. Wavering between romanticism and gritty reality, it ultimately slips through the crack in a finalé that could leave you feeling cheap and used.

Overall Recommendation: STAY AWAY...FAR FAR AWAY!!!

note: Campion also directed Bright Star...all hopes I had for the movie kinda just went down the train.