Review of In the Cut (2003) by Andrew H — 07 Feb 2010

Some movies, like good friends, stay with you for the rest of your life. Sometimes they are memorable because of the characters, such as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Sometimes it is because of an unforgettable scene, such as the time the producer in The Godfather wakes up to find his beloved horseâ??s severed head next to him. Other movies make a lasting impact because of the ordeal they put you through while watching them, such as A Requiem for a Dream. While many movies succeed in creating a lasting impression, In the Cut does so in the worst possible way, like a strip club.

In the Cut, directed by Jan Campion in 2003, is an erotic thriller in the spirit of Basic Instinct and Eyes Wide Shut, but it is much, much worse. Meg Ryan plays Frannie, a distrustful and annoying schoolteacher in a poor neighborhood of New York City who becomes sexually involved with Malloy (Mark Ruffalo), an overpowering and gruff detective who is investigating a series of murders in her neighborhood. As the plot moves forward Frannie becomes increasingly suspicious that Malloy is the killer. Even though this film came from a spectacular director, who had critical acclaim with The Piano, it is filthy and gross.

Almost all of the characters in the film are entirely detestable. Frannie has her suspicions; so much so that her distrust of men starts to become annoying and you start to hate her halfway through the story. But despite having trust issues, she has sex with detective Malloy, whom she suspects of murder. Malloy is vulgar and untrustworthy. At one point, on their first date together, Malloy tells Frannie that he would do anything she would like except beat her. Yet time and time again, when they are about to become intimate, his body language says otherwise. Cornelius, one of Frannieâ??s students, is one of the more likeable characters in the film, up until the point he tries to rape her. In the beginning he is just a student with a crush on his teacher who is also helping conduct research. After they almost share an intimate moment, she says no and he tries to rape her. Lucky for her another detective saves her. The only character that is likeable in the film is Frannieâ??s sister, Pauline. She is kind and sweet. You know what happens to her? She is beheaded like a turkey. How lovely. The only likeable character in the entire film is decapitated.

In some films sex scenes are romantic. In some, they are erotic. In In the Cut they are sleazy. The very first sex scene of the film (there are about six of them) is an act of felatio, where the camera is at such an angle to show the penis going into the womanâ??s mouth. The act was being performed in a basement, which increased the sleaze ball factor exponentially. Walking out of this film was like walking out a strip club. I needed a long shower, a luffa, and a gallon of body soap. Now Iâ??m not against sex scenes in films, however dirty they might be, but they shouldnâ??t define the film. The film goes from one sex encounter, to advancing the plot, right back to another sex encounter. It quite like a bad romance novel or a soft core porno.

This film is not for everybody. In fact it really isnâ??t for anyone. Despite having characters that are incredibly despicable and having the plot structure of a soft-core porno, I can recommend this film to people who want to feel like a sleaze ball - for those people who like that kind of thing.