Lower East Side Manhattan, New York City. High School
teacher and writer Frannie Avery (a liberated Meg Ryan) goes to the Red Turtle
Bar to meet one of her students Cornelius Webb (a debut role for Sharrieff
Pugh). When she excuses herself to go down to the basement for a visit to the
ladies she witnesses a man standing in the shadows receiving a blow job from a
young blond women with blue diamond encrusted fingernails, the one thing she
does notice about the man is a distinctive tattoo on his wrist. Not sure if she
has been seen she makes a quick exit and leaves the bar. The next day she gets
a visit from Detective James Malloy (Mark Ruffalo in a part that fits him like
a glove) who asks if she saw anything that may help the police in a gruesome
murder of the girl with blue diamond encrusted finger nails last seen alive in the
Red Turtle. She is immediately drawn to the Detective and encouraged by her
half sister Pauline (a very sexy Jennifer Jason Leigh) she accepts his
invitation to go for a drink. It’s on this date that she notices that Malloy
has the same tattoo as the man who received sexual gratification from the
murder victim! As the death toll increases, each one of the victims gets closer
to Frannie.
 |
| Frannie and Pauline. |
As well as the actors mentioned above we have Kevin Bacon
who plays a very spooky character John Graham the ex-boyfriend of Frannie who stalk’s
her every move even turning up in her flat. Frannie’s rejection appears to have
affected his metal state. Nick Damici plays Malloy’s partner Detective Richard
Rodrigues who has been assigned to desk duties because of his violent nature
towards his wife.
 |
| Frannie's lonely life is not very satisfying.... |
Based on a novel by Susanna Moore In the Cut (2003) has
been adapted by the author and the films award winning director Jane Campion,
whose list of credits include The Piano
(1993), Portrait of a Lady (1996)
which starred one of the two producers of this erotic thriller: Nicole Kidman, Holy Smoke (1999), Bright Star (2009) and the TV mini series Top of the Lake (2013).
 |
| ....that is until she meets Malloy! |
‘A sensuous study of desire and masochism wrapped around a straight up
thriller’[1]
Basically the study of female sexual psychology and the attraction of fear
which leaves women intimidated and excited at the same time. We have two female
singletons whose sex life is not straight forward, one of which is having a
restraining order taken out on her to stop her sexually harassing a married
doctor while the other, Frannie, has obvious pent up sexual desires. The reason
that this film has been labelled provocative is because the more Frannie
believes that Malloy is the killer of the three brutally murdered women the
more she is drawn to him ‘turned on not
just by his cunnilingus technique but also by his potentially lethal power’[2]
This dark noir type drama extends Meg Ryan’s acting capabilities and allows her
complicity with the exploration of sex for pleasure and not necessarily for
love! This well researched cinema verite
is well acted and New York is particularly well photographed but it is quite
explicate and I would suggest one for the more open minded cineaste.
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