Color, R/NR (mature themes, sexual situations, nudity, violence, language), 119 min., VHS rental, DVD $26.96
DVD: director's commentary, two featurettes
Street: Feb. 10, Prebook: Jan. 20
First Run: W, Oct. 2003, $4.7 mil.
Cast: Meg Ryan (Kate & Leopold),
Mark Ruffalo (The Last Castle), J
ennifer Jason Leigh (The Anniversary Party),
Nick Damici (The Underdogs),
Cornelius Webb (Trigger Happy)
Director: Jane Campion
COLUMBIA
Variety Said: Jane Campion enters the world of suspense thrillers, as well as the landscape of American filmmaking, with mixed results in In the Cut. An intensely sexual exploration of the nature of a woman's desire in the guise of a murder mystery, this high-strung adaptation of Susanna Moore's best-selling novel is beautifully crafted and is highlighted by an arresting change-of-pace performance by Ryan as an English teacher erotically awakened by a homicide detective. The story's unpalatable narrative holes and dramatic missteps, however, will hold sway over the picture's better qualities with most audiences, spelling an iffy commercial future in most markets. --Todd McCarthy
VB Takes a Look: A refined, dignified woman letting lose her bursting-at-the-seams libido with a man who might very well be a murderer is a story that has been explored onscreen many times; erotic thrillers of that particularly bent thrive in the world of video premiere movies. In that sense, In the Cut, isn't much different from a dozen other films released during the past couple of years. Campion's much-hyped film, however, offers a few solid performances by an image-shattering Ryan, Ruffalo and Jason-Leigh (revisiting the kind of libido-charged role she used to essay years ago in such films as Last Exit to Brooklyn and Miami Blues) and a distinctive, extremely atmospheric view of New York courtesy of cinematographer Dion Beebe (Chicago, Holy Smoke). A poor showing at the box office can only help In the Cut's arrival on the new-release shelf, where Campion's strong fanbase and those anxious to check out the film's already notorious sex scenes (which are not overly explicit, though there's certainly enough nudity to go 'round) are sure to keep it moving strongly for some time. --Cyril Pearl