In the Cut (2004, VHS)

Aside from my first thoughts of, what the hell, or wait, who s doing what? and the more popular this isn t even a vampire film, why on earth am putting myself through this, I have nothing even remotely positive to say about this film. Yes, in truth those may not have been positive, but at least they weren t exactly mean-spirited. I don t know how long I can hold back so consider yourself warned. The main premise of the film sounds like something that could work. A writer, Frannie (Meg Ryan), embarks on a voyage of self discovery and sexual awakening after meeting Detective Malloy (Mark...

I'm a big fan of a stylish, interesting thriller. I don't care if it's in book or film form, as long as it can keep me entertained and interested throughout the length of it, I'm satisfied. Of course, there's that pesky matter of having believable characters and a decent plot. Director Jane Campion adapts the novel of the same name by Susanna Moore (both of them worked on the screenplay), and serves up a film that is promising at the start, with interesting cinematography and use of colour, but fails in the most vital aspect of the film -- namely the plot. Frannie (Meg Ryan) is an English...

Cut to pieces by most reviewers, the adult-oriented In the Cut isn't as bad as the majority would have you believe. It may be that Meg Ryan, baring all, gives her best performance here. And co-star Mark Ruffalo ("Collateral") is very good as well. Illogical at times yet engrossing, In the Cut managed to capture my attention in more than just the obvious ways. An adaptation of Susanna Moore's 1995 erotic thriller, co-written and directed by Jane Campion (The Piano), the film often evokes Seventies cinema: e.g., "Klute," "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," "Taxi Driver" (that last one mostly in terms of.

In the Cut made its way into and out of theatres rather quickly, what little attention it managed to garner owing mostly to Meg Ryan's bravura turn away from America's rom-com sweetheart and decidedly towards full-frontal nudity. Give that a good many people doubted Ms. Ryan could be any kind of a serious actress - and in a Jane Campion film no less - and that many men have been wondering what she looks like completely naked since her "orgasm in the diner" scene from When Harry Met Sally, it seems In the Cut would've made more of an impression at the box office. That it didn't, with such a...