In the Cut

After evidence from a murder is found in her garden, Franny Avery (Ryan) is questioned by Detective Giovanni Molloy. Molloy's brutal honesty and sheer confidence sparks an interest in Franny, which leads to obsession. While the two can't stop thinking of each other and there relationship grows more passionate, the killer continues on his rampage.

Meg Ryan well and truly buries her girl-next, romantic comedy image to prove what a good actress she actually is.

Based on the gritty novel by Susanna Moore, Ryan takes over a role earmarked for Nicole Kidman to produce a performance that will shock and amaze her fans. This is a complete departure for the Rom-Com favourite and it allows her to really get to grips with her craft and her own sexuality. This visually explicit movie cuts all ties to Ryan's usual on screen persona allowing the actress to show her talent for the dramatic as she did fleetingly in movies like The Doors, Courage Under Fire and The Presidio. As the actress enters her 40s (she still looks stunning) and her bread and butter roles start to dry up, In the Cut opens her up to a whole new casting call. This is a breakout movie for Ryan and should be an extremely positive career move.

Her standout performance is well supported by the up and coming Mark Ruffalo. This is also a breakout role for the actor, as it showcases his talent for characterisation and that he has a good screen presence. He creates in Detective Molloy, a character that is very elusive, as you never know if you should trust him or what his motivations are. The chemistry between Ryan and himself works well as he succeeds in a creating the kind of intrigue and mystery that women all so readily find fascinating.

The whole movie revolves around their relationship but this is at the expense of the other characters. Both Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kevin Bacon's characters are severely underused and underdeveloped. Jason Leigh's man obsessed sister isn't given enough screen time or background to become interesting and Bacon's stalker ex-boyfriend has no depth and falls into stereotypical behaviour.

The story itself is slow and lethargic, never really building any understanding or sympathy for the down beaten characters. Director Jane Campion tries her best to ignite some interest by making the movie visually superb but even the ingenious use of focus, crisp editing and moody lighting can't hide the story's shortcomings.

Sexually explicit, dark and moody, In the Cut is a showcase of acting talent and directorial flare that is let down by the inadequacies of the story. The performances from the two leads do save this from the mediocre, making it far more watchable than it could have been but you can't help thinking that it could have been so much more.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and as with most modern transfers it is very good. The sharp colours really emphasise Campion's vision with her use of red throughout standing out. The use of varying focus also highlights the clarity of the transfer as images blend into each other. The surround soundtrack is also good with extremely clear dialogue, with is important on a character driven piece like this.

BONUS FEATURES

In the Cut: Behind the scenes (15.42 mins)
Director Jane Campion, producer Laurie Parker and the stars of the movie talk about coming together to film a low budget noir-thriller based on a book they all feel passionate about. The featurette takes you onto the set as the cast talk intimately about how they approached the strong content of the film. The author herself, Susanna Moore talks about her influences and how the book was a complete change in style for her. Campion also discusses the New York locations and the shooting style, as the actors reflect on the preparation they had to go through to understand their characters.

Deleted Scenes (11.41 mins)
Seven deleted scenes called 'Avoiding John', 'Shoe chimes', "See you after court", 'Capt. Crosley's office', 'Roses', 'Coffee Shop' and 'Spanish love poems'. Without a director's commentary for each scene it is hard to understand why these scenes where removed, especially the 'Avoiding John' scene as this adds more background and character to Kevin Bacon's role.

Commentary by director Jane Campion and producer Laurie Parker
This is the first DVD commentary track that director Jane Campion has done and she seems to have fun with it. Both producer Parker and Campion chat about their visual influences while making the movie and the technical aspects used during filming. The pair discusses the characters in depth with both of them knowing every aspect and motivation of the roles their actors were playing. They also discuss the more controversial scenes in the movie, both sexual and violent and how it impacting on them filming it and the actors involved. Listening to her and producer Laurie Parker you release that both of these women have an extraordinary knowledge of filmmaking, making this an enjoyable and informative commentary track.

UK & US trailers
Your chance to watch the US and UK versions of the theatrical trailers.

Trailers
Trailers for 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', 'Beyond Borders', 'Touching the Void', 'Runaway Jury' and 'Spun'

OVERALL
Path� have done a great job transferring a relatively low budget, character driven noir piece to DVD. As this is a very visual film, the picture quality had to be spot on for the home-viewer to enjoy the look that the director was trying to portray. The commentary track by Jane Campion and producer Laurie Parker is very informative and adds a lot of value to the release but they should have commented on the deleted scenes. All in all this is a very well put together package that will delight fans of the film and Jane Campion.

DVD

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2003