In The Cut - The Memorable TV DVD Review

Distributor: Columbia Home Entertainment
Certificate: M15+
Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffallo, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Extras: Yes

Despite the furore kicked up by Meg Ryan’s nudity in the movies several explicit sex scenes and despite some very gruesome moments and very strong language In The Cut stands up well as a straightforward psychological thriller.

Ryan plays New York English teacher Frannie Avery who stumbles upon a prostitute performing oral sex on a man with a prominent Ace of Spades tattoo on his wrist, when the prostitute is later discovered murdered Frannie finds herself involved in the murder investigation; This is where things get murkier as she is attracted to the investigating officer Giovanni Malloy (a fantastic Mark Ruffallo who steals every scene he is in) and begins an intense affair with him, problem is though Malloy has an Ace of Spades tattoo in the exact same place as the chief suspect in the murder case. Plot twists and red herrings appear almost by the minute as the movie hovers between a classic film noir from the 1940’s and a sex fest Basic Instinct style flick.

The plotline is the staple of any number of seen it all before thrillers but Campion is too intelligent to just give us a bare bones edge of seater; First off the movie looks fantastic, great cinematography, lots of subdued browns and vibrant red washes everywhere and secondly the movie is trying to explore the darker side of female sexuality (Ryan’s character is convinced that Malloy is a murderer but is still willing to sleep with him); Campion who co-wrote the script with novelist Susanna Moore seems to have made every male in the movie uncouth and unlikable and one with potentially violent tendencies, whether this is a statement of her feelings towards men in general or just those living in New York remains to be seen but as a male viewer you do feel a little beaten down by the end of the movie; Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, the world is a bad place and the people doing all the bad things are generally men.

It’s worth mentioning here the very very good edgy and uncredited performance by Kevin Bacon as a losing it ex of Frannie’s, also particularly good is Jennifer Jason Leigh as Frannie’s half sister Pauline (who provides the movie with one of its most heart stopping moments).

Definitely anintriguing movie, very worth watching, just don’t go inviting your grandmother around to watch it with you.

EXTRAS: Commentary from director Jane Campion and producer Laurie Parker; A smart little guide called Frannie Avery’s Slang Dictionary examining slang terms used in the movie and a bland 15 minute featurette looking at the making of the movie, there are also trailers for other Columbia product.