Rated R for strong sexuality including explicit dialogue, nudity, graphic crime scenes and language		Release Date: October 22, 2003 — Los Angeles/New York; October 24, 2003 — opens in select cites; October 31, 2003 — expands wide
Reviewed by: Jim		Released by: Screen Gems
Review Date: October 24, 2003

Jane Campion's latest attempts to make a thriller out of a sexual odyssey in the serial killer genre. The New Zealand director and co-writer has Meg Ryan doing something Diane Keaton did back in the 70's, making conflict and explicit moments coalesce. But the story and heavy-handed direction gives In The Cut an awkward, unoriginal quality that even Ryan, going against type, can't save.

It starts with Ryan's Frannie Avery, an English teacher, witnessing sex between a man and a woman in a seedy tavern. Later she learns that the woman involved has been brutally murdered, maybe by the good-looking cop (Mark Ruffalo) who is on the case. Strangely, Frannie is drawn into a Looking For Mr. Goodbar life with his darkly attractive quality.

Kevin Bacon provides some noteworthy support and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Frannie's half-sister and a menacing figure has some very odd scenes that work into symbolism that gets way to pretentious. In The Cut has graphic dialogue and crime scenes that leave a tale that is very predictable. Maybe Ryan could have taken a risk in another projection that could have made being "bad" better for her career but this vehicle doesn't. Even the usually reliable Ruffalo doesn't help this failed attempt.