In the Cut

In the Cut was at all what I had expected. I was a little nervous that it was going to be really graphic (which is was) and a lot of blood and violence. I am one of the worst people to watch a scary or bloody movie with because i am so jumpy and get scared easily. Gun shots and loud noises, or suspense make me crazy in movies. However, when I see a movie that I don’t need to cover my eyes in a lot, I usually like it. I have a lot of mixed feelings about In the Cut. The story I really liked, even though I was really sad when the sister died. I thought Meg Ryan was really great in this role, which is interesting because she usually is very innocent and perky. I think it is good to give and actor a role that is different than what they are used to. I wasn’t able to watch any of the scenes with dead bodies (luckily there were only two) but I think it was necessary to have it that graphic in order to show the intensity. I was a little confused by the end. Malloy and Rodriguez were partners and really good friends. They got the 3 of spades tattoo together and they’re obviously close. Did Malloy know that whole time that Rodriguez was the killer? Or did he realize it when he was handcuffed in Franny’s apartment? If he did know about it, why did he pretend that he didn’t? This movie was completely unpredictable! Even though I said in one of my previous blogs that I like being able to predict movies, I actually liked that I couldn’t predict this one. The entire movie I kept saying “Cornelius is the killer!” or “Malloy is the killer” or Kevin Bacon’s character, and I kept finding evidence or quotes that they said that made me think that. For example, I was sure the Bacon was the killer at one point because he had said “ I took a shower” and then the next scene Pauline was dead in the shower. I am assuming that this was Campion’s intention. The detective ( I think his name was Rodriguez) was one of the last guys that I predicted to be the murderer

Something that stood out was that in many scenes with Malloy, his tattoo on his wrist was showing. Now I know that it is in a very visible place, but I only saw it when he and Franny were alone together, and in many scenes when his hands were on her head, or when they were being intimate, which is exactly how she had noticed it on the detective receiving oral sex. I think Campion definitely chose when the viewer would see the tattoo and where his hand would be at the time. The color red was very prominent in the movie. It was everywhere all the time. Red can have so many meanings! It stood for passion, and violence and intensity. It also represented fear and death. All in all, I didn’t mind the movie. It was a little too graphic for my taste, but I like detective stories and it kind of reminded me slightly of CSI. I wouldn’t say that I really liked it, but I also didn’t really dislike it. I think that Campion is a very interesting, and talented director and I am interested in seeing other films by her.