In the Cut (2003)

Director:

Jane Campion

Writers:

Jane Campion (screenplay) &
Susanna Moore (screenplay) &
Susanna Moore (novel) ...

Release Date:

31 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Everything you know about desire is dead wrong.

Plot:

A New York writing professor, Frannie Avery (Ryan), has an erotic affair with a police detective (Ruffalo) investigating a murder in her neighborhood of a beautiful young woman...

Plot Keywords:

New York | Detective | Police Detective | Dirty Talk | Slapping

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Pauline
Meg Ryan	...	Frannie
Micheal Nuccio	...	Frannie's Young Father
Allison Nega	...	Young Father's Fiancee (as Alison Nega)
Dominick Aries	...	Attentive Husband
Susan Gardner	...	Perfect Wife
Sharrieff Pugh	...	Cornelius Webb
Nick Damici	...	Detective Rodriguez
Heather Litteer	...	Angela Sands
Daniel T. Booth	...	Red Turtle Bartender
Yaani King	...	Frannie's Student
Frank Harts	...	Frannie's Student
Sebastian Sozzi	...	Frannie's Student
Zach Wegner	...	Frannie's Student (as Zack Wegner)
Mark Ruffalo	...	Detective Malloy

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality including explicit dialogue, nudity, graphic crime scenes and language.

Runtime:

119 min | Canada:113 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Australia | USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (original rating) | USA:Unrated (uncut director's edition) | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Pathe Productions

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Jane Campion]the bar waitress in the first date between Frannie and Detective Malloy

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is a typo in the credits - "transportation" is spelled "tranportation" (missing the "s").

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pauline:What does "broccoli" mean"?
Frannie:Depends on the context. Pubic hair or marijuana. It's a noun.
Pauline:And "Virginia"?
Frannie:Vagina. As in, "He penetrated her Virginia with a hammer".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game K N B: Episode dated 3 March 2007" (2007)

Soundtrack:

You're No Good

Obviously Cuts Too Deep for Some

Deary me, some people get upset when a film isn't what they want it to be, don't they? How dare the film be what the film-makers set out to make, instead of what someone's narrow expectations dictate it should b?

Fancy In the Cut being gritty, seamy, sexy and deeply disturbing ... just like all the publicity (and the rating) warned us it would be. What a shock. How did the people expecting another Piano, or Meg Ryan Finds True Love Yet Again ever find themselves in the cinema?

As for those who have said they have walked out completely unmoved ... either they must be aliens or robots, or are fooling themselves, not wanting to acknowledge the truth of what they've seen on the screen. Seldom have I seen a film that so truly examines the dark side of our sexual impulses. I walked out quite shattered, and wandered around in a daze for a while.

Meg Ryan completely miscast? Ridiculous and insulting. How dare you tell an actress she has to be Little Mary Sunshine for the rest of her life. And she pulls it off brilliantly. She and Mark Ruffalo give the most stunning lead performances for a long time. Why? Because they're playing real, multi-layered people. Not goody-goodies or baddy-baddies.

Didn't like any of the characters? Must have a very limited range of acquaintances, or alternatively, don't like the real people you do know.

Thriller plot not thrilling? Admittedly it's not the strongest point in the film, but it has all the required shocks and surprises (and, you'd think enough gore for the modern audience), and while the revelation of the murderer is not the biggest twist ending ever, the final shot takes your breath away.

And anyway, Campion, while handling the thriller genre competently, is using it as a means to explore sexuality. And attraction. And how much of love involves physicality, carnality, trust, the desire to dominate, the desire to be dominated, and above all, the attraction of the DANGEROUS. Yes, adult stuff, not often tackled in mainstream films.

I think it's her best film ever (possibly excepting Sweetie), and I give it 9 out of 10.