After a promising start, "In the Cut" quickly deteriorates into a jumbled mess of naked limbs and muddled plot. Bland rather than bold and predictable rather than suspenseful, "In the Cut" lacks the emotional thrust needed to carry off what could have been a super-charged erotic thriller.
The film revolves around Frannie (Ryan), an emotionally detached, mousy creative writing teacher living in New York. Her life revolves around her slutty sister (played by an underutilized Jennifer Jason Leigh), her students, and her obsession for collecting slang terms. In a neighborhood bar for a tutoring session with one of her students, Frannie excuses herself to use the restroom and comes across a red-haired woman orally servicing a man who sports a distinctive tattoo on his wrist. Hiding herself behind a door, Frannie watches in fascination as these two strangers go at it.
Frannie’s act of voyeurism leads to her becoming a potential witness in a gruesome murder case. Assigned to probe her for possible clues to the murder, Detective Malloy (Mark Ruffalo) quickly probes her in an entirely different manner. Their initial liaison leads to kinkier sex and the start of an unhealthy, dysfunctional relationship. As the two become more obsessed with each other, the killer strikes again and again, each time in an increasingly grotesque manner. Among the possible suspects is Cornelius (Sharrieff Pugh), a student of Frannie’s with an interest in serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Another likely choice for losing his mind and hacking up women is Frannie’s mental-case-of-an-ex-boyfriend, John Graham (Kevin Bacon). The bodies pile up and Frannie, trusting no one, comes up with her own idea of who the killer is and takes matters into her own hands.
Ryan is obviously making career choices to distance herself from romantic comedies, which used to be her bread and butter. "In the Cut" serves us a drab-looking Ryan engaged in all sorts of graphic sexual acts. Even if the thought of Ryan and Ruffalo naked on the big screen is what drove you to see the movie, there comes a point relatively early on where you want to yell at them to keep their clothes on and concentrate more on telling a coherent story. They should have demanded a better script in exchange for baring themselves.
Ryan's an actress who can tackle almost any genre and should be able to work past the nudity and sex to the heart of the story, figuring out a way to find the human qualities of this character. She doesn't succeed and so what appears onscreen is lifeless.
Ryan and Ruffalo don't get any help from the dialogue. It's uninspired and serves only to lead into discussions of sex or sex scenes (the whole serial killer issue is really secondary). I'm not a prude and sex/nudity in films doesn’t bother me in the slightest - if the film has some redeeming qualities. Because these characters are so one-dimensional you don’t feel any empathy for them, and if you don’t care about their lives, then you certainly won’t care about their sexual escapades.
Meg Ryan’s gutsy for tackling a role such as this. She's made up to look spinster-ish, dressed down in simple clothes, a bad wig, and wearing little make-up. Unfortunately aside from looking right for the role, Ryan never fully embodies the character. In order for "In the Cut" to be effective, you have to feel for the lead character. Frannie’s such an unappealing character, it’s tough to work up any compassion for her no matter what the circumstance.
Mark Ruffalo fares better as the aggressive Detective Malloy. Though Malloy is a total crime show stereotype, Ruffalo’s portrayal of a homicide detective who’s seen the worst side of life and has the scars to prove it at least makes you feel something while he’s onscreen.
Kevin Bacon is decent as the unstable ex-boyfriend who looks like death warmed over and carries himself like a man beaten down by life. Bacon’s character is the most intriguing of the bunch, and his supporting role is one of the bright spots in the movie.
"In the Cut" isn’t a total disaster. There are moments of sensitivity and brilliance that sparkle briefly before being snuffed out by more depressing dialogue and dearth-like pacing. The dark, bleak tone of the film adequately captures the impression the movie leaves on you after it’s all said and done.
GRADE: C
"In the Cut" was directed by Jane Campion (cast and crew list) and is rated R for strong sexuality including explicit dialogue, nudity, graphic crime scenes and language.
