A film by Jane Campion
I had fairly low expectations going into In the Cut that I couldn t help but enjoy the movie more than I thought I would. The critical reaction to the movie has been negative, and though I see the point of the critics, I only partially agree. The problem, as I see it, is that the buzz on this movie is that In the Cut started being seen as the movie where Meg Ryan gets naked rather than anything about the actual story. There is a bit more to In the Cut than that buzz.
The story is that Detective Malloy (Mark Ruffalo) is investigating a brutal murder and evidence was left outside the apartment building where Frannie (Meg Ryan) lives. Malloy questions Frannie, and they end up in a relationship based almost entirely on the physical. The focus of the film stays on the relationship at the expense of the murder plotline. How this mixes together is that Frannie starts to suspect that possibly Malloy is the killer. Yet, Frannie stays in this intensely sexual relationship even with her doubts.
The trouble that I had with this movie was that I wasn t sure that director Jane Campion ever decided on whether this is an erotic love story or a murder mystery, and the film suffers a bit because of that. At no time did I feel that there was nudity for the sake of nudity, but if it was also meant to be sensual and erotic, it wasn t. The sex and the nudity in the movie were just there. It was nice to see Meg Ryan in a dramatic role, as she is a very capable actress ( When a Man Loves a Woman , Courage Under Fire ), but I am left with mixed feelings on In the Cut . I didn t feel much chemistry between Ryan and Ruffalo. Oddly enough, the best chemistry (and sexual tension) comes between Frannie and her sister, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). To use Roger Ebert s rating system, my thumb is wavering between up and down, and that would tell me to go with thumbs down if I can t honestly recommend In the Cut .
I had fairly low expectations going into In the Cut that I couldn t help but enjoy the movie more than I thought I would. The critical reaction to the movie has been negative, and though I see the point of the critics, I only partially agree. The problem, as I see it, is that the buzz on this movie is that In the Cut started being seen as the movie where Meg Ryan gets naked rather than anything about the actual story. There is a bit more to In the Cut than that buzz.
The story is that Detective Malloy (Mark Ruffalo) is investigating a brutal murder and evidence was left outside the apartment building where Frannie (Meg Ryan) lives. Malloy questions Frannie, and they end up in a relationship based almost entirely on the physical. The focus of the film stays on the relationship at the expense of the murder plotline. How this mixes together is that Frannie starts to suspect that possibly Malloy is the killer. Yet, Frannie stays in this intensely sexual relationship even with her doubts.
The trouble that I had with this movie was that I wasn t sure that director Jane Campion ever decided on whether this is an erotic love story or a murder mystery, and the film suffers a bit because of that. At no time did I feel that there was nudity for the sake of nudity, but if it was also meant to be sensual and erotic, it wasn t. The sex and the nudity in the movie were just there. It was nice to see Meg Ryan in a dramatic role, as she is a very capable actress ( When a Man Loves a Woman , Courage Under Fire ), but I am left with mixed feelings on In the Cut . I didn t feel much chemistry between Ryan and Ruffalo. Oddly enough, the best chemistry (and sexual tension) comes between Frannie and her sister, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). To use Roger Ebert s rating system, my thumb is wavering between up and down, and that would tell me to go with thumbs down if I can t honestly recommend In the Cut .